King of the Goblins 2: Gratuitous T&A Edition
Date: 2024-07-06 07:00:00+00:00
Description: I worked hard to earn this crown, but someone is determined to take it all. For six glorious months, being king was like my wildest dreams come true. My subjects adored me, my wives cherished me, and Silvy, bearing my heir, filled our realm with hope and joy. With our economy thriving and our population swelling, we decided to build a second goblin city. But nothing great lasts forever. Rumors reach my ears of attacks in the forests and sightings of huge monsters. Investigation reveals a formidable enemy marching towards both my realm and the neighboring elven city of Caelora. As we prepare to
Publisher: anonymous

King of the Goblins 2

Gratuitous T&A Edition

Micky Carre

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locations is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2024 by Micky Carre

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

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1

The air was cool against my sweat-slicked skin as I held the sword in front of me. My grip on the leather hilt was tight, but not overly so. Some people described it like how one would grip a lover, but I always thought that was a dumb analogy. I kept my eyes on my opponent, watching for any signs of attack. The dip of a shoulder, a shuffled foot.

Of course, he gave none. He never did.

Althidon was suddenly right in front of me, sword swinging straight for my arm. I brought mine up just in time, with a loud clack as the blades of the practice swords slammed together. He struck like a viper and I barely managed to deflect two more blows before a third caught me in the chest.

“Ah, shit,” I said, grounding the tip of my practice sword and leaning on it. I rubbed my chest and winced. I wore a thick leather vest to protect from that sort of thing, but it still felt like I had been punched. My shoulders and arms already bore several bruises.

“Don’t worry, you’re doing great,” Althidon said, leaning on his sword as well. While I was slick with sweat, Althidon barely looked to have exerted himself at all. “Truth be told, I’ve never seen anyone progress as quickly as you, especially in only six months.”

“Yeah, I’m just impatient, I guess,” I replied. “It can be frustrating, sparring and always losing.”

“The sword takes a lifetime to learn, unlike the spear,” Althidon said. “We’re done for the day, though. I know you have plenty of other things to take care of.”

I tugged at the laces on the side of my leather vest and began pulling it off. A servant came up and took both of our practice swords and my leather vest from me, and another handed me and Althidon damp towels to wipe ourselves off. I thanked them, then used blood magic to heal the fresh bruises on my body.

“Still enjoying life as king?” Althidon asked with a smile as he handed his sword to the same servant. He combed his fingers through his long, silver-white hair. “Not tiring of this world yet?”

“You know, sometimes I wonder if I will,” I replied. “Like I almost expect it. There were some awesome things back in my world. Cars, video games, skydiving, the list goes on. Life is simple here, but so much better. Now, I’m king, with the best wives possible and a life that’s surprisingly low stress, except when I have to suffer through you kicking my ass with a practice sword.”

“Speaking of that, have you given any thought to children?” Althidon asked as he took a step closer to me. Another servant brought us our shirts, and we both pulled them on.

“Silvy is pregnant,” I told him. “Just a few months along. We’re still trying to think of a name.” Together, Althidon and I walked away from the training area and through the elven city of Caelora.

“You know what I mean,” Althidon said, giving me a pointed look.

“Ah, of course,” I replied. “I don’t think she’s ready for that, yet. We’ll both have nice, long lives so we’re in no rush.”

No need to remind him that I was raw-dogging his daughter on a nightly basis, or that she wasn’t pregnant because she preferred to swallow.

“Trade is going well,” I said as we walked across a bridge magically grown from the branches of one of the great trees. We stepped onto the next island in Caelora and continued. “The women have figured out how to use magic down in the mines. It cuts the hard labor down to a tenth of what it once was, maybe less.”

“Fantastic,” Althidon said. “We’ll both benefit from more iron and gold and whatever else your people find down there.”

“We should figure out a faster way to travel between our cities,” I said. “They’re close enough. It’s a shame there isn’t more of a direct path.”

“We’re growing stairs on the nearest great tree,” Althidon said. “That’ll be a big help.”

“Yeah, but walking up all those stairs sucks ass,” I replied. “And goblin women are four feet tall. Even with their thigh muscles, that’s a lot of work. But, you’re right. For now, that’s probably the best option.” I couldn’t help but wish there were some magical way we could transport ourselves between the elven and goblin cities. Anything to reduce the amount of walking through the forest. Especially since harpy and gnoll sightings had been on the rise lately.

My thoughts went wild. “What if we cut a new tunnel down in my city? One that spiraled up and exited the side of the cliff a hundred feet in the air. You could have one of the great trees grow a bridge that connected to it.”

Althidon frowned and nodded slowly as I spoke. “Something like that might work,” he said after a moment. “Although that would certainly take time. I can talk to the elders about it.”

“With what you’ve already done with the great trees, I feel like it would be easy to do,” I said as I reached a set of stairs on one of the trees.

“Remember, trees grow slowly,” Althidon said. “Especially when you want the wood to be strong. The faster the tree grows, the less dense the wood will be. Even magic can’t rush that.”

“I’m sure we’ll figure something out. We have all the time in the world to do this.” I offered him my hand. “Good to see you, as always.”

Althidon firmly shook my hand. “You too. Give everyone my blessings.”

He was a stoic man, and him saying that was about as warm as he got. I was grateful for him, though. Althidon was my father-in-law, one of my primary points of contact in the elven kingdom, and the man that had trained me on the spear. He had also helped kill my predecessor, Ralcor, in a nasty fight six months ago, and barely survived. I owed a lot to Althidon, including my life.

Once I was on the throne, he had told me he wanted to teach me the sword. The spear was a soldier’s weapon, a common man’s weapon, he said. A sword was a status symbol, one fit for a king. Not only that, but if I wore a sword, I needed to know how to use it.

And so began our training. Three times a week I went to the treetop city of Caelora, both to talk with the locals and help with trade, and to spend two hours per day training with Althidon.

Both of our nations prospered once trade and relations were restored. For the first month after I became king both cities were practically flooded with tourists, as goblins and elves flocked to explore each other’s cities for the first time in more than a hundred years. We learned each other’s languages and shared with each other food and culture.

As expected, some of the elven men immediately fell in love with goblin women. One look at their petite bodies topped with massive tits and round bottoms and it was hard not to be drawn to them. I had fallen for them myself, after all.

A few of the elven women found themselves with goblin men as well, especially once Ralcor’s influence was gone and they calmed down a bit. Some of the gentle, soft-spoken elven women seemed to enjoy the tough, muscular goblin men. It would take some time for the first half-goblin, half-elf children to be born, but plenty of people were excited for that. It was just another sign of how well our people got along.

I continued through the forest on the familiar path that I had taken for half a year. My steps had worn the grass down over the months, marking a clear trail. Many of the goblins and elves took the same path, enough that I joked about making a sidewalk there. Of course, no one knew what a sidewalk was.

I smiled as I walked through the woods. I had great memories of meeting with Zia and Tressi in this very forest when I was new to this world. It was always after my sparring with Althidon, so I was tired, but we met up and talked and fooled around. It was in these very woods that I got to know two of my wives.

Very few goblins foraged in these woods now. One of the first things I had done was put an end to the dangerous foraging, and instead used magic to grow our crops in the city itself. Of course it took a lot of work—once Silvy found several women capable of elemental magic, she had to train them enough so that they could help. Then, a new district in the city was carved into the mountain.

I wanted to make it reasonable, but it had to be large—after all, it took a lot of food to feed thousands of goblins. Once the massive cave itself had been created, an army of workers brought fresh soil in from the forest, until it was two feet deep on the floor of the new farm district. In that soil went row after row of all the things we loved so much, from those strange orange potatoes to herbs to small fruit trees.

Silvy helped create more of that strange glowing moss and we covered the ceiling with it, making the farming district the brightest place in the goblin city. She was even able to make the moss automatically dim at night, so the circadian rhythm of the plants wouldn’t be thrown off. She spent hour after hour going through her magical books and scrolls to be able to do it. It was really quite incredible.

“Good afternoon,” I said to the single guard posted in the mouth of the tunnel. Now that things were peaceful, our military was a quarter the size it once was, and the soldiers worked more as city guards and policemen.

“Your Majesty,” he said, saluting with his fist over his heart.

I returned the salute and continued into the tunnel. Discipline had to be kept strict with the soldiers, but once Ralcor’s influence was out of the picture they lost much of their aggressiveness. They became less like crooked cops and more like actual peacekeepers. They held each other to standards, and took pride in their work.

Walking down the tunnel always brought back memories of me trying to sneak through it with the shadow stone in my mouth. I still kept the shadow stone with me everywhere I went—there was no telling when I’d need it again. I mean, I once saw a troll in the forest. That shadow stone was the only thing that kept me alive.

Once I exited the tunnel and came into the Tunnel District, I glanced over at the path that led to Silvy’s old house. Dust covered the path now, as it hadn’t been used in months. She had a better life, now. We all did.

I continued through that district and made my way to the hot springs. Of course once I was there I got an eyeful. Not just because it was filled with gorgeous, naked goblin women, but because many of them liked to show off when I was near. I wasn’t entirely sure, but I believed some of them hoped to catch my eye so they could become another one of my queens. That would certainly explain the young woman that paused as she was bending over and winked at me over her shoulder. If they had their way, I’d have a dozen wives.

Well, as beautiful as they were, having four wives was enough for me. Even that was a struggle sometimes—and not for any negative reasons. I was just plain worn out, trying to keep up with so many women. But things had evolved into one big, happy family and I wouldn’t ask for anything else.

After saluting the guard at the entrance to the tunnel that led to the Royal District, I made my way up the long, sloping floor. Once at the top, I walked down the arrow-straight path that led to the royal palace. Soldiers gave me jovial greetings the entire way; they were like completely different people once Ralcor’s memory had faded.

“Can I get you anything, Your Majesty?” an older woman in servant’s livery asked as I walked up the stairs to the throne room.

Seeing older goblin women made me smile. Sure, Silvy was two hundred years old, but she looked barely thirty-five. Some of these servants were twice that old, probably the goblin equivalent of sixty or seventy.

Her hair was iron gray and pulled back into a neat bun, but her green eyes were still plenty sharp. Faint wrinkles marked her face, but she was still quite pretty. Full lips smiled at me in a polite manner. Beneath her servant's dress, her big tits and round bottom were still impressive. Well, I had seen plenty of older goblin women in the hot springs, so I knew exactly how good they looked naked.

In other words, the next few hundred years were going to be awesome.

“No, I’m fine. Thank you though,” I replied.

She bobbed a curtsey for me, then briefly caught my eye as she turned to walk away with a smile. The women that worked in the royal palace all knew I was a fan of goblin beauty, so they did this to me daily. My wives thought it was hilarious and encouraged it, especially Zia. My eyes stayed glued to her rear end, watching it move with each step. Amazing.

I continued across the throne room and pulled open a small door in the back, then entered the royal palace proper. Although it was sized for goblins, it was still a large place. Being carved from stone never ceased to impress me. It had every creature comfort I would expect of a place meant for a king.

“Aaron!” a familiar voice called out.

I turned and saw Tressi hurrying towards me from the other end of the hallway.

At four feet tall with double-handful breasts and hips to match, she was breathtaking. Her hair was auburn in color and her eyes brown, both of which a rarity among goblins. A faint scar ran from just above her right eye and disappeared into her hairline, where it turned into a white streak. She had a white patch in her eyebrow that matched. Scar notwithstanding, her face was about as flawless as a face could be; every day I saw her, I never tired of her beauty. Her full lips curved into a smile and she stretched up onto her toes to kiss me once she came near.

“You really should start dressing more like a king, honey,” she said, picking at my shirt. “You look like a well-dressed commoner.”

“Clothes don’t make the man,” I told her.

“Be that as it may, you have an image to uphold,” she said. “When your people see you, they should see a king, not a simple man.”

“Wait,” I said, stopping in my tracks. “Did you just call me simple?”

She slapped my arm. “Oh, you know what I mean.”

“Did anything crazy happen while I was gone?”

“Come on,” she said, holding my hand. “Let me show you.”

2

Tressi pulled me by the hand through the stone halls of the royal palace. While goblins were a small people, the grandiose nature of the palace made most things rather appropriately sized for a human or elf. Some of the furniture had to be adjusted to fit me and Leena properly, but they worked quickly and it was done in no time.

We passed by several servants as we walked, and they greeted us with bows and smiles. The men kept things professional with collared shirts and amiable demeanors, but some of the women made sure to position themselves so that I caught a glimpse of their curves. It was like a game to them. I certainly didn’t mind.

The aromas of the kitchens were impossible to miss. I briefly wondered if Tressi had me pass by them just so I could smell what they were making. It was like if pure happiness had a scent.

“What is that sound?” I asked as something faintly echoed through the halls.

“You’ll see,” Tressi said, smiling up at me.

After a moment I thought I recognized it, but decided to play with Tressi a bit.

“Did one of you get a pet?” I asked. “It sounds like someone is torturing a cat. God, that’s horrible.”

“Oh, stop,” she said as she pulled me along.

We came to my bedchambers and I pulled open the door. Tressi hurried inside, and I followed her.

It was a large room of solid granite, with a bed sized for five people. The bed was elven-made, of course; they were much better at making comfortable mattresses than the goblins. Several large chairs were sprinkled around the room as well, each with a small table, and a magical fireplace had been carved into the far wall. It provided warmth when needed, but produced no smoke. That had been Silvy’s doing.

Leena and Silvy were seated on the edge of the bed at that moment, with Zia in a chair nearby. Tela, Tressi’s older sister, sat next to her in another chair. She had the same auburn hair and brown eyes as her sister.

Only a few feet away, Taranath sat in a chair with a strange musical instrument on his lap at an upright angle. It was made of wood and had that look that suggested it had been magically grown instead of carved. Whatever it was, it reminded me of a three-string guitar with a circular body.

“Aaron!” Taranath said as we entered. He strummed his fingers across the strings and took up a song.

“Brave King Aaron, from the gods a gift

Brought to our world through a magical rift

Tall and strong, with a mountain of luck

And such beautiful wives that he loves to f—”

“Hey, good to see you too, Taranath,” I said, laughing at his song. “Keeping everyone entertained, I see.”

“Yes, I’ve been practicing this thing for the past few months, so I can serenade Tela,” he said, plucking a few chords at random. “It helps me focus when I have an audience.”

“You should hear some of the things he comes up with,” Tela said.

“Oh, I can imagine,” I said with a chuckle.

Silvy and Leena got up from the bed and walked over to me. As tall as she was, Leena simply leaned forward and kissed me. Her lips were the softest thing I’d ever felt.

“Hey honey,” she said with a beautiful smile. “How did your sword training go? My father wasn’t too hard on you, was he?”

I laughed. “I think I only had to heal two dozen bruises this time, so he must have been taking it easy on me.”

Silvy, being only four feet tall, stretched up onto her toes and puckered her lips for me. I bent down and wrapped my arms around her narrow waist, then lifted her a foot into the air and kissed her.

“Oh, put me down,” she giggled, but only once she was done kissing me.

I bent down so I could place my hand on her stomach. She was just beginning to show signs of pregnancy. Goblins were pregnant for eight months, so she would progress a bit faster than a human woman. Not that I was an expert on such things.

“How’s our baby?” I asked. “Feel anything yet?”

“Not yet,” she said, smiling as she rubbed her lower stomach with both hands. “I’m almost halfway there, so I should feel some movement soon, maybe a few little kicks. I can’t wait.” She beamed a smile at me.

“Oh stop, you’re going to make me want one next,” Leena said with a laugh. “I’m definitely not ready yet.”

“Your father was asking me about that, actually,” I said to her.

Leena rolled her eyes. “He just wants to be a grandfather, that’s all. My mother said the same thing to me the last time I saw her. Nope, I’m not ready yet. In ten years, maybe. They can just be patient.”

“Is this what you wanted to show me?” I asked Tressi as I gestured towards Taranath. He was leaning over and talking with Tela, both of them smiling at each other like lovestruck teenagers.

“In part,” she replied. “His songs are rather funny. But actually, I had something else to show you. Zia?”

“Ugh, I was comfortable,” Zia said as she pushed herself up from her chair.

As queen, she had taken a habit of wearing very low-cut dresses around the palace. They were made from the thinnest cloth she could find, too. The back of the dress was cut even lower than the front and dropped down so that I could see the very tops of her butt cheeks. It left little to the imagination except modesty. I found myself lusting after her as I watched her curvy body move across the room. That was probably her intention.

I was so entranced by the shape of her thighs that it took me a moment to realize she had picked something up off a nearby table. She smiled as she always did when she saw her affect on me.

“What is that?” I asked, looking at what she held. It looked like a steel-colored blob.

“Silver!” she exclaimed. She approached me, holding it in hand.

“Weird. I didn’t know it looked like that. I figured it would be stuck in a rock,” I said.

“That’s what I wanted to show you,” Tressi said, sounding excited.

Zia handed the blob of silver to Tressi, who held it in front of me.

“Silver ore is usually found in rocks, just like you said,” Tressi explained. “Our women have been using magic in the mines, as you know. They’ve finally figured out a method for extracting the ore directly from the rocks. It’s slow, but the results speak for themselves.”

“Amazing,” I said. “I was just telling Althidon about this earlier today. So instead of digging the ore and rock from the ground, you’re using magic to pull it out?”

“Basically,” Tressi said. “We have women down there right now, using magic to search through the rock. Each woman has different strengths, but some are able to feel the presence of gemstones deep in the rock. Some can feel metals, like iron or silver. Each person has a different talent.”

“They use magic to help push the rock away,” Zia said, taking over. Tressi handed her the piece of silver and she continued. “Men fill carts with the loose rock and clear it out of the mines while the women continue pulling the rock away in large chunks. When they get to whatever they felt, be it metal or gemstone, they’re usually able to remove the entire thing with magic, unless it’s too big.”

I looked at the silver in her hand. “So this was drawn out of the rock with magic?”

Tressi nodded. “We’ve been wanting to do this for quite some time. Now, our miners are finally being successful.”

“That’s wonderful,” I said. I wasn’t entirely sure what we would do with a pile of silver, but then again I reminded myself that money was important. That would help with trade and our economy in general, which was still recovering.

“What are we doing with all the rock that’s dug from the mines?” I asked.

“Same as when we dug the extra districts,” Zia said. “For right now, we’re just putting it out in the forest.”

“That’s so wasteful,” I said, rubbing my chin as I thought. That was a large quantity of stone we were talking about. Surely, it could be used for something.

And then it hit me. A solution for two problems.

“You can use magic to form all the loose stone into one big block, right?” I tried to think of how to explain what was going through my mind. “Like take a pile of rocks and use magic to melt it into one big piece of rock? To fuse it together?”

“Yeah, that’s not too hard,” Tressi said. “It takes a while and works better when a dozen women are working together, but I wouldn’t call it hard. Just time consuming.”

“The stronger ones should have no problem doing that,” Silvy added. “Something tells me you have an idea.”

“I have a great idea,” I said. “We’re going to dig a new tunnel, going upwards from the Tunnel District. Using all the excess rock, we’ll make a stone bridge that will connect with one of the great trees.”

“That will make it easier to walk here in the mornings,” Taranath said, looking up from Tela. “I saw gnoll tracks this morning. The forest is getting dangerous if they’re around.”

I frowned. “I’ve been hearing the same thing from different people,” I said. “Gnoll tracks, harpy sightings. Something is making the forest restless.”

Taranath strummed a chord on the instrument. “I can take a look at things with you, if you’d like.”

I nodded. “We should. Your eyes might pick up on something I’d miss.”

“Are you referring to your small and weak human eyes?” he asked with a grin.

“Yeah, I guess,” I said. Silly elf.

Taranath punctuated his words with more chords. “Weak and pathetic, can’t see in the dark, too small—”

“Hey, I’m the king. Watch it or I’ll have you beheaded,” I said.

That just brought more songs out of Taranath.

“Brave King Aaron with his tiny small eyes

Can’t see in the dark, won’t realize

The gnolls are coming, hungry for blood

The trolls were here, and that’s not mud.”

Tela slapped him on the arm and we all laughed.

“When are you free?” I asked.

“Well, you’re the king,” Taranath said with a grin. “I suppose I should simply be ready whenever you are.”

“Gnolls tend to come out in the mornings and evenings,” Silvy said. “They don’t care for the heat of the day, and they can’t see as well as us at night.” She frowned. “That adds another layer of mystery to some of these recent sightings. They happened in the middle of the day.”

“Thanks,” I said. “How about tomorrow, around lunch time? We shouldn’t run into any of them that way, and the sun will help my pathetic human eyes see any tracks.”

Taranath nodded and plucked the strings of his musical instrument.

“Two brave souls out hunting gnolls—”

“Oh, enough from you,” Tela said, cutting him off.

“Yes, I suppose I should get back to Caelora,” Taranath said. He looked over at Tela and smiled. “Care to go with me, love?”

“Yes, but no more songs,” she said, adjusting her dress as she stood up.

Taranath slung the instrument over his shoulder and took Tela by the hand. Together, they left the room.

“I like seeing them together,” I said as they walked out.

“Me too,” Tressi said. “It’s good to see my sister so happy. And for all his bad jokes, Taranath treats her very well.”

“By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Leena said, stepping closer to me. “I mean, I see you do it with them all the time, and Silvy’s told me how it feels. I think I want to try it their way.”

“Huh?” I asked, clueless as to what she was trying to tell me.

“You know,” Leena said, blushing slightly. “How they do it. How they have you finish.”

“Finish what?” I asked.

“She wants you to cum in her ass,” Zia called out from across the room. “It’s about time, too” she added in a quieter voice.

Leena blushed harder.

“Oh,” I said.

“Is that okay?” Leena asked.

“Of course!” I said, looking her up and down. She was tall and slender, with small, perky breasts and a butt to match. As beautiful as she was, I would do just about anything with her.

“Can we try tonight?” she asked, now excited.

I laughed.

“Don’t worry,” Silvy said to Leena. “That’s his happy laugh.”

3

After that we all enjoyed a late lunch. As was customary among the goblins, it was a hearty stew and fresh-baked bread. As usual, I had no clue what was in the stew, but it was fantastic.

“Chef Gorman really outdid himself this time,” Zia said after swallowing a mouthful of stew.

“How is he enjoying his promotion?” I asked. “Oh, the elven wine goes really well with this stew.”

“He loves it,” Silvy said. “That was a great idea on your part.”

Chef Gorman had prepared food for the royal family for nearly three hundred years, but until recently was just called a cook. Well, I gave him the official title of “Chef” and had Elasha make some chef’s hats for him and that made his entire world. Never before had I seen such a broad smile on the stout old man’s face. Sometimes all it took was for people to feel appreciated. Speaking of which….

“Hey,” I said, looking around at all four of my wives. “I don’t know if I say this enough, so I just wanted to take a moment to tell you all that I love you. I’ve never been this happy before. Life with you all is great.”

“That must be the wine speaking,” Silvy said.

Since she sat next to me, I leaned over and placed an especially wet kiss on her cheek. She tried to pull away so I grabbed her with both hands and held her there, giving her a soup-tinged kiss that covered half of her face.

“You monster!” she shouted. “You absolute demon!” But there was too much laughter in her voice for her to be angry.

“I’m glad I’m sitting over here today,” Leena said from across the table. She plucked at her dress, which was white. “You’d get soup stains on me.”

Silvy scrubbed her face with a napkin, then turned to me. “Remember when I told you that I’d take a frying pan to your head? You’d better sleep with one eye open tonight, mister.”

“I love you, Silvy,” I said, looking her in the eye.

“Oh you—Aaron, you—Ahhh!” She huffed a few times. “That’s not fair. You know I can’t be angry at you when you say that.”

I reached out and took her hand in mine. “Maybe you shouldn’t be angry with me, then. I was just trying to show you some love.”

“Love shouldn’t involve stew, Aaron,” she said.

“What about all that stew you cooked him when you guys first met?” Zia asked. She winked at me.

“That’s different!” Silvy said. She snatched her knife from the table and gave me a sharp look.

“What are you gonna do with that knife, Silvy?” I asked.

Her eyes narrowed. “Keep testing me and you’ll find out.” She grabbed a piece of bread and began spreading butter on it.

“Are you going to butter me, Silvy?” I asked. “No, Silvy, please! Not the butter!”

She dropped her knife and laughed. “I can’t handle you sometimes.”

“Well, you had better learn, since we’re going to be together for a long time,” I said with a wink. I looked at my other wives. “So, what’s our plan for this evening?”

“Kord needs to speak with you after lunch,” Zia said. “He has to go over the budget with you in excessive detail.”

“Well, fortunately I have you to help me with that,” I said. Zia was good with numbers, and a natural when it came to working out budgets for a city. And let me tell you, that was no easy task.

“I can’t wait,” she said, taking a sip of wine. “Oh, this is good. Did Taranath bring it?”

Tressi nodded. “He’s been giving my parents gifts of wine every week to thank them for bringing Tela into the world. They don’t even have enough room to store it all, so I brought some here. We had better get to drinking.” She took a sip from her wine cup as if to punctuate her point.

“What’s after Kord?” I asked.

“General Rolf wants to talk to you,” Tressi said. “Remember what Taranath said about the gnoll sightings in the forest? Rolf wants to talk about the same thing. He has some thoughts on what might be going on.”

“Sounds like a cheery discussion,” I said. Rolf was a good man and a solid general, but if you showed him a blue sky he would still manage to find a storm cloud. But then again, that’s probably what made him a good general. At least he didn’t seem to mind that I killed his former commander-in-chief.

“My father wants to help train some of the goblin soldiers,” Leena said. “He spoke to the general about it. With us being on the ground, we’re more likely to be attacked than the elves, even if we are inside a mountain.” She suddenly laughed. “Us. The elves. I sound like a goblin.”

“Is that such a bad thing?” Tressi asked.

“Not at all,” Leena said.

“Elves are nice as well,” Zia said. “You know, Leena, you’re my favorite elven woman in this entire room.”

Leena gave her a flat look, and Zia laughed.

We relaxed and chatted a bit longer. Life could get stressful as king, so I always made sure to take some time each day to just relax and enjoy my family. It was my version of stopping to smell the roses.

Once lunch was done, I grabbed a second cup of wine and brought it with me to the bedroom. Zia arrived just a few moments later.

“Make sure you dress nice for your meetings,” she said. “You’ll walk around here dressed as a commoner if we let you.”

I grumbled and reached out for my wardrobe. It was tall and grown from wood. A wedding present from the elves, from the elven king himself actually. I pulled the door open and sorted through my clothing.

“You look good in the red jacket, you know,” Zia said. She leaned against me, purposely brushing her large breasts against my arm. I loved it when she did that, but it certainly made it hard to focus.

“Yeah, but I get warm in the red jacket,” I replied. “If I’m too warm, I’ll wind up falling asleep while Kord is telling me about the economy. No jacket today. I need to focus.”

I tried to ignore her breasts rubbing against me but then she turned to look through the other side of my wardrobe, which meant she was rubbing her butt against my thigh. I just let her do it, and smiled at how beautiful my wife was.

She turned to face me with a blue vest in her hands. One of her shoulder straps had slipped down, exposing her breast on that side. Honestly, considering how thin her dress was, I wasn’t sure she even knew it had happened.

“You look good in this vest,” she said, handing it to me. She looked down and noticed my erection. “My goodness, what do we have here?”

“That’s your fault,” I said.

Zia looked up at me with such exaggerated innocence in her eyes I almost laughed. “Why, whatever do you mean?” she asked. “I wouldn’t do something like that, especially when you have meetings to attend. Wait, you need better boots than those.” And with that, she turned around and bent over, right in front of me.

I had been staring at her barely concealed curves since coming back to the royal palace, so having her right in front of me was more than I could handle. I dropped the vest and tore at the laces on the front of my pants, pushing them down before grabbing Zia’s dress. I yanked the bottom hem of her dress up, exposing her rear end.

She responded with a gasp of shock, but spread her feet wider. “Aaron, what are you doing back there?” she asked, sounding so clueless I almost just laughed.

But instead I licked my fingertips, then reached down and wiped them on her hairless pussy. I could tell she wanted it; she was already soaking wet. I grabbed my shaft and rubbed it against her, then pushed myself inside.

“Oh my goodness Aaron!” Zia said. She pushed back against me but still played the innocent game. Her voice rose in pitch slightly each time I thrust inside her “You can’t do this, I’m a nice girl! As pure as snow!”

“You’ve never even seen snow,” I said. I gripped her hips tightly and rammed myself inside her like a jackhammer.

She laughed and finally dropped her silly ruse. “Ah, I’ve been waiting for this all day,” she said, her voice breathy as she pushed back against me.

The sound of skin slapping skin echoed off the stone walls each time my pelvis slammed against her impossibly round backside. I felt like I was in heaven, even if I did have to bend my knees some due to her being four feet tall.

“The bed,” I said, pulling myself out of her. My legs got tired too quickly in that position.

I ran over to the bed and sat on the edge. Zia was only a few feet behind me. She hoisted up her dress and straddled me, sinking down on me with a loud moan.

My hands were all over her, squeezing her ass, grabbing her hips, rubbing her large breasts. At that moment I couldn’t get enough of her. She kissed me, her plump lips hard against mine, her tongue pushing into my mouth. She held my face tightly against hers and worked her hips up and down, moving with my thrusts.

I knew I wouldn’t last long, going like that. We were both so hot for each other in that moment, I was almost surprised I hadn’t came already.

I slid my hand back and got a firm grip on her ass, pulling on her cheek and spreading it again.

“Oh, my favorite part,” Zia said. She licked her fingers and reached behind her, wiping her saliva on her tight little hole.

She rose up until I was able to pull myself out of her pussy. I lined the head of my cock up with her backdoor and worked around a bit, helping her relax. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then sank down. She worked her hips up and down a few times until she was seated on my lap with my throbbing member completely buried to the hilt in her ass.

“By the gods, I will never get tired of how that feels,” she said, smiling with her eyes closed. She stayed on my lap for a moment and worked her hips in small circles, then began riding me.

As heated as the moment was, my hands went right to her waist and I began moving her up and down, giving her full-length strokes.

“Don’t be late for your meeting,” Zia said, giving me a sultry smile, that look that practically begged me to go as hard as I could. She took hold of her breasts and shoved them in my face.

My hands slid down to her round bottom and I squeezed those magnificent cheeks hard, pulling them apart while I thrust between them. I rammed myself into her as hard and fast as I could and her moans turned into shouts.

After only a minute or two of that, I was shouting with her as I pumped her ass full of my seed. Once she realized I was cumming she straightened up and sat back on my cock, taking me to the base and working her hips back and forth until I was done.

I collapsed back on the bed, breathing hard. Zia fell forwards, covering my chest with kisses.

“I wish we could just do that all day,” she said, then suddenly lifted her head, an excited look in her eyes. “Hey, you’re already in my ass. Can you do that thing with your blood magic so you can go a second time right away?” She clenched her ass muscles and I laughed.

“Trust me, I wish,” I said. I leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Unfortunately, it’s time for us to be king and queen now. We have a nation to run.”

Zia frowned prettily. “Oh, I guess.” She slowly raised herself off of me, then settled her dress around her hips. “I should probably change as well,” she said, looking down at herself.

“Yeah, I don’t think Kord or the general would be able to concentrate if they saw you in that,” I said with a laugh.

I took a deep breath and sat up. It was time to get to work.

4

As Kord dragged on about numbers and finances in his dry voice, I found it a real struggle to focus on his words. My mind kept going to Zia and how her body felt. Every few minutes she made sure to reach over and touch my arm or say my name, anything to interrupt my thoughts. She really knew how to make my blood boil, even in the throne room.

At least what I managed to understand of Kord’s monotony was positive. Ralcor had driven the goblins deep into debt and had basically threatened to kill anyone that reminded him of it. Since I had taken over, things had vastly improved. Average wages were up, and our trade with the elves continued to grow. The royal coffers were still basically empty, but our future was bright. We were steadily digging ourselves out of the hole.

My chief economist even suggested sending an envoy to the orcs, in order to further grow trade. While it would take nearly a week to reach their nearest town, they made the finest steel around. Goblin ore could be smelted and forged there. Or, we could simply be a supplier.

“Aren’t they prone to attacking people, though?” I asked.

Kord pursed his lips. “Good memory, my king. Yes, the orcs can be…testy at times. As long as one does not offend their sense of honor, they are usually reasonable people.”

“Are these the sorts we want to do business with?” I asked, leaning over to Zia.

She thought for a moment. “Well, if we want to see continued growth, we’ll have to move beyond the elves. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great. I think our cultures blend together very well. But we could expand even further if we began trading with the orcs.”

“We also should talk about the city itself, Your Majesty,” Kord said. “Under your rule, the people are quite happy. Happy people have children. We have been keeping track of our census, and at this rate we will need to dig another district in five more years, possibly sooner.”

“Wow,” I said. “We’re growing that much, eh? Perhaps we should look somewhere other than just beneath this mountain.”

“That is what I wanted to talk to you about,” Kord said with a slight bow. “We need to make plans for expansion in the future. Instead of adding more here, I believe it makes sense for us to establish a second location.”

“A second goblin city in the area, eh?” I asked, looking over at Zia. I gave her a grin. “This is great. We can live somewhere other than beneath a rock.”

“Hey,” she said. “We like living underground. It’s safe.”

“Yeah, and difficult,” I said. “There’s only one way in or out, which yeah, it’s safe, but it’s a pain in the ass in every other aspect. No sunlight, fresh air requires magic to bring inside. Hell, just making a place to grow our food took months to complete.”

“Okay, so you’re right,” Zia said. “But convincing our people to live somewhere else is going to be difficult. For as long as we’ve been goblins, we’ve lived underground. We don’t always like change.”

I thought for a moment. “Well, we can start building right outside the mouth of the tunnel, I guess. At least then the new districts would be close. That would help, right? Maybe build a few goblin skyscrapers from all that excess stone.”

Kord shrugged. “Possibly. I believe this would be an opportunity to look elsewhere, Your Majesty.”

“As in further away?” I asked.

He nodded. “If the people wish to stay underground, we could always find the nearest appropriate mountain and start building inside there. It would be familiar, reasonably close—at least, I hope—and would grow your empire considerably.”

“My empire,” I said quietly. “Huh. Never thought of it that way. What do you think?” I asked, turning to Zia.

“I think that’s the best idea,” she said, tapping her bottom lip as she pondered our situation. “There’s another mountain just to the south, so it would be close. We could even connect them, eventually. But otherwise it would be a separate city, still run by you of course.”

“And I think we should extend the city a bit to the area in front of the mountain as well,” I said. “That way, the entire thing isn’t underground. At the very least, our farming should be done outside, in the sun.”

“I’ll concede to that,” Zia said. She preferred using magic for everything, but even she saw how much effort went into growing things underground..

“An excellent decision, Your Majesty,” Kord said.

“Ah, I just pay you to say that,” I told him, meaning it as a joke.

“But it is a good idea,” he insisted. “Expanding your kingdom to another nearby mountain? That is a most excellent idea, I believe. It will be just as safe as this one, being within the rock, but it will have farms outside, and perhaps some buildings for those that wish to be in the sun more often.”

A man in a decorated gray jacket walked up the steps and stood at the top, waiting patiently with his hands clasped behind him.

“And easily defensible, which will make General Rolf happy,” I said, then raised my voice. “Come on in, general.”

Kord straightened up. “I suppose that’s a dismissal for me, Your Majesty?”

“Yeah, I think we covered everything,” I said. “Oh, wait. I almost forgot. I want to make a new tunnel, going up from the Tunnel District. It’ll exit the side of the mountain about a hundred feet in the air, towards Caelora.”

“Are we trying to connect with them?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. “We can use all the leftover stone to build a bridge towards one of their great trees. They’ll make a branch meet up with the stone bridge. That’ll make moving between our cities easier and safer, especially with what’s going on in the forest lately. That should be everything. As always, thank you for your hard work, Kord. I appreciate it.”

“I shall send a man, Your Majesty,” Kord said as he bowed low. That was his way of saying he’d pester me about it later. He turned, offered a greeting to the general, and then stepped out of the throne room.

General Rolf was Kord’s polar opposite: whereas Kord was spindly and frail with a thin, old voice, Kord was a strong man with a determined stride and spoke loudly, with confidence. Considering his station, that was appropriate.

“Good afternoon, general,” I said.

“Your Majesty,” he said, bowing. “I’m going to jump right into it, Your Majesty. Something is going on in the forest.”

I frowned at that. “I’ve heard as much. What have you learned so far?”

“Sightings of harpies and gnolls have been on the rise,” the general explained. “Three people were attacked by gnolls yesterday evening. They were injured, but managed to drive the gnolls away. I spoke to them after they were healed.”

“What’d they say?” I asked.

General Rolf hesitated a moment before answering. “They said the gnolls seemed afraid, frantic almost. Like they were running from something when they came across the foragers. They weren’t interested in eating goblin flesh as usual; the gnolls attacked out of fear, the way a scared animal will attack anyone or anything that comes close.”

I looked over at Zia. “That’s weird.”

“You’re telling me,” she said, then turned to the general. “How many gnoll sightings over the past week? How many harpies?”

“At least a dozen, my queen,” he answered. “Fortunately for us, they have been running away when spotted, instead of fighting. The attack yesterday was an outlier.”

“Do the gnolls all live somewhere?” I asked. “Is there a gnoll city, or town?”

“They’re tribal creatures,” General Rof replied. “I wouldn’t call it a city by any means, but yes, there is an area they mostly stick to. A settlement.”

“And where is that?” I asked.

The general thought for a moment. “To the east. You could walk there in three, maybe four days.”

“What about the harpies?”

“Also east,” the general said. “North of the gnoll settlement, but still east of us.”

“So, is something driving them this way?” I asked.

He took a deep breath. “That’s what I’m afraid of. Both gnolls and harpies are good at staying hidden when they don’t want to be seen, so for us to see as many as we have…. I would guess at least ten or twenty times as many have passed through here in the past few weeks.”

“And why here?” I asked.

“Both goblins and elves cultivated this part of the forest with magic for hundreds of years,” Zia explained. “Before Ralcor took over, of course. That’s why so much food grows here.”

“My queen is correct,” General Rolf said. “Gnolls prefer the taste of goblin flesh, but they’ll eat berries to stay alive. Especially if they’re fleeing something.”

“And that’s the big question,” I said. “What is scaring the gnolls and harpies?”

“I’m going to send a patrol of men each evening to investigate the forest,” the general said. “Hopefully we can learn something.”

Zia suddenly sat up straight. “Wait a minute. Silvy used magic on you so you can understand any language, right?”

I nodded. “Yes, that was one of the first things she did.” I smiled at my beautiful wife, then turned back to the general. “My queen has an excellent idea. Taranath and I were already planning on checking the forest tomorrow afternoon. We should accompany one of your patrols. If we run across any gnolls, I’ll be able to talk to them.”

General Rolf nodded slowly. “Yes, that would be a huge help. We cannot risk your safety, though. I will send a full squad of men with you.”

“One of us should go as well, in case you run across any harpies,” Zia said. “Women are immune to their magic.”

“Well, sounds like my day is all planned, in that case,” I said. “Is there anything else going on, general?”

He shook his head. “Nothing that you need to concern yourself with, Your Majesty. The elven Sword-Master, Althidon, spoke with me about training some of our more talented soldiers. I’m glad I see eye-to-eye with the elf. They’re as safe as can be, up in those trees. With the increased threat of the gnolls and harpies, I think it would be especially good to have some of our men better trained with the sword.”

“And we’ll need that for a second city,” I said.

“Second city, Your Majesty?”

“Yeah, our population is growing so Kord spoke with me about establishing a second goblin city. It’ll probably be just a few miles away, in one of the nearby mountains, although I want to build part of it outside the mountain as well. Farms, at the minimum. Your soldiers will help keep things safe.”

The general nodded. “That sounds wonderful, Your Majesty. Splitting the population up would also help guarantee our survival, should anything truly horrible happen.”

“That’s a dark line of thought, but I agree,” I told him. “Well, gnoll attacks notwithstanding, I think this is a sign of a good future for our people. Hey, I have a question. What’s your opinion on the orcs?”

“The orcs?” he asked, then frowned and rubbed his chin. “Fierce fighters. Excellent steel workers, but temperamental. They have a rather finicky sense of honor, and can be quick to react if they feel it’s violated.” He cleared his throat. “Sort of like your predecessor.”

“Would you see a benefit in improving relations with them and trading regularly with them?” I asked.

The general nodded. “As long as we are careful, I think both nations would benefit. It sounds like you’re really expanding things.” General Rolf bowed his head. “May your reign be long and peaceful, Your Majesty.”

And I knew he meant it. After dealing with Ralcor for so many decades, people were glad to work for someone that appreciated them and truly wanted to help the goblin people.

And I did. The goblins were wonderful, and my skin might have been a different color but I was one of them.

5

After the meetings, Zia and I strolled through the long hallways of the royal palace together.

“You see? That wasn’t so bad,” she said, and reached up to grab my arm.

“Yeah, the financial part can get dreary at times, but it was all good news,” I said. “I guess I just don’t really like sitting there while someone reports to me. I’d rather be out doing something myself.”

“Part of being a king is knowing when to act and knowing when to listen,” Zia said.

Two servants walked by, stout women around Silvy’s age. They both gave me warm smiles, and my eyes lingered on their chests perhaps a bit longer than was appropriate. Those necklines seemed awfully low.

“Did you have the servants’ dresses altered?” I asked.

Zia laughed. “It’s so much fun watching you stare at them,” she said. “You act like your eyeballs are going to pop out of your head sometimes. And then you get all sexually frustrated, and I get to finish you off.” She winked at me.

“Well, in that case,” I said, and turned around

Both of the servants had just passed us, so I pointedly watched them walk away. Their large, round bottoms undulated beneath their snug-fitting dresses, each ass cheek moving up and then down with each step. It was mesmerizing.

“Wow,” I said.

“I hope you look at me that way,” Zia said, tugging on my arm.

I grinned and bent over. “Honey, I can’t stop looking at you.”

“Good,” she said. She stretched up onto her toes to kiss me and we continued walking. “By the way, if you ever stop looking at me that way I’ll smother you in your sleep.”

“With what?” I asked.

“I don’t know, probably a pillow,” she said.

I let out an exaggerated sigh. “I was hoping you’d say your boobs.”

She laughed again and held onto my arm tightly.

“This is really nice, you know?” she said after a few minutes.

“I agree,” I said, patting her hand on my arm.

“No, I mean all of this,” she said, gesturing around her.

“The city?”

“No, I mean—” she huffed. “I mean everything. You, me, us. Our family. Being able to spend all this time together, and not having to worry about getting caught and killed. I won’t lie, I liked you from the first moment I saw you, but that was stressful. Every day, I was afraid someone was going to kill us.”

“Yeah, and then you all got kidnapped,” I reminded her.

“And then you rescued us,” she replied, beaming a smile up at me. “I owe you my life, Aaron.”

“How will you ever repay me?” I asked, meaning it as a joke.

“Will you accept payment in butt stuff?” she asked.

I thought for a moment. “Deal,” I said.

“So, what’s going on tonight?” she asked, clearly wanting to make the first payment soon.

I shrugged. “The life of a king can be rather busy, you know. Especially one with four beautiful wives.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’re really struggling,” Zia said, rolling her eyes.

Tressi entered the hallway at that moment. She smiled and hurried towards both of us, pulling us into a group hug.

“How did your meeting go, honey?” Tressi had picked up on my habit of using “honey” as a term of endearment.

Zia smiled up at me. “Someone is doing such a good job that we’ll be expanding the city,” she said.

“Huh?” Tressi asked, looking up at me. Are we digging another new district?”

“Even better,” I said. “An entirely new city in another mountain a few miles away. Close enough that we can travel there relatively easily if need be.”

“Oh wow. I never thought I’d see the day we grew that much,” Tressi said. “Things had stagnated under Ralcor. The birth rate was low, and our population was actually shrinking, even with how long we live.”

“Well, now we have a proper ruler, and we’re really starting to see changes,” Zia said. She looked up at me with pride in her eyes. I loved that look. “He wants part of the new city to be outside the mountain, also.”

“Outside?” Tressi asked.

“At least the farms,” I said. “It makes a lot more sense for the farms to be outside, you know.”

Tressi frowned. “It does, but we’re a stubborn people. We’ve done things this way for thousands of years. Sometimes goblins don’t like change, even positive changes.”

“I tried telling him that,” Zia said.

“Once everyone sees how much better things are, they’ll understand,” I said. I offered Tressi my other arm and she moved onto my right side and held onto me.

“I never thought I’d see so many changes in such a short period of time,” Tressi said. “For so many years we’ve just done the same things. My parents and grandparents have told me about it. Even under Ralcor, things were mostly the same.”

“Yeah, well, get ready for plenty more,” I said. “I have a lot of ideas that will make life here much easier.”

Not that it was particularly hard to improve upon. Sure, they had magic and underground hot springs. But in the end, they lived beneath a mountain. It was definitely easy to improve upon life here.

A young man with several papers in his hands rounded a corner and his face lit up with recognition when he saw me. The messenger boy hurried towards us and made a hasty bow when he came near.

“Your Majesty, uh, Your Majesties,” he stammered. “My apologies, master Kord sent me out to find you right away.” He shuffled through the papers in his hand and produced a small quill, one with the tip already inked.

“What’s this for?” I asked, holding out my hand for the papers.

“Construction orders for a new tunnel, and exploration orders to find a place for our new city,” the messenger recited. Clearly he didn’t understand it, but Kord had told him what they were.

“Excellent,” I said, scribbling my name at the bottom of each one after scanning over them. They were straightforward, which is exactly what I expected out of Kord. There was no fluff in that man, no room for frivolities.

The exploration orders established a team of a dozen people, both men and women, to find the nearest mountain appropriate for our next city. The women would use magic to delve deep into the mountain and see if it was the right kind of stone, and if anything valuable was beneath the surface.

The construction orders were exactly what I expected. Starting tomorrow, a new tunnel would be formed, beginning in the Tunnel District and spiraling up until it exited the sheer side of the mountain a hundred feet in the air. All the excess stone would be shaped into a stone bridge, and heavy enough to withstand the elements for a thousand lifetimes. I smiled when I noticed Kord’s note at the bottom that the bridge should have a roof to protect from the rain. That was just like him, not leaving any detail unnoticed. I couldn’t wait to see the actual plans for the bridge.

“Thank you,” I said to the young messenger. “Take those back to Kord, and we’ll get started right away.”

“Yes sir, right away,” he said, bowing. After that, he turned and hurried away, taking the papers back to Kord.

“Why do you insist on everything being in writing?” Tressi asked.

“I’ve often wondered about that myself,” Zia said.

“Simple,” I said. “This way, I don’t have to think back to a conversation I had with Kord a month ago. Everything important is written down, so I can always go back and check it.”

“What if you change your mind?” Tressi asked.

“Then we write up a new order,” I said. “Yeah, the pages will fill a bookshelf, but it’s nice having all that stuff there. Good record keeping is important, you know. Kord loves the system. It helps him to be more efficient.”

It was then that I realized the women were steering me towards the bedchamber. When we reached the door, I looked down at Zia. She smiled back at me.

“We have a little surprise for you,” Tressi said. She pushed the door open.

Silvy and Leena were in the room, sitting on the edge of the bed and kissing each other while they waited for us. Most notably, they were both completely nude, with Leena straddling Silvy’s lap, her rear end facing us.

I had expected some wild lesbian love out of Zia and Tressi, but it was Leena and Silvy that wound up as the bisexual ones. They spent a lot of time together, both in the bedroom and out, and had grown to really love each other. As for Zia and Tressi, they kissed on occasion, but they were still mostly just best friends. Zia enjoyed playing around, but she was really only interested in me.

“It’s about time,” Leena said.

She held Silvy’s face in her hands and smiled at me, then gave Silvy another open-mouthed kiss. They teased each other with their tongues, smiling and giggling the whole time. As we walked closer, Silvy stuck her tongue out and Leena licked up one side of it, then down the other before kissing her again.

Leena looked over her shoulder at me and smiled. “I’m ready, Aaron,” she said, wiggling her butt from side to side. “Don’t make me beg.”

Silvy reached out and slapped her hands firmly on Leena’s pale skin, drawing a yelp from her. She squeezed Leena’s ass the way I would have, gripping it firmly and spreading it.

“Why are your clothes still on?” Tressi asked. I looked over at her and her dress was already off. Zia was only a few seconds behind her.

I laughed and tore at my clothing. Zia and Tressi helped me, and I was naked in no time. Of course seeing Leena and Silvy together was enough to make me rock-hard. She shook her ass at me again, watching me over her shoulder while Silvy kissed the side of her neck.

“Pleeeeease,” Leena said, arching her back. Silvy pulled on her pale skin, spreading her ass for me.

Wow, I had never seen her this excited before. She really wanted to try the service entrance. Well, I was obviously fine with that.

I hurried over to the bed and tried to contain my excitement a bit. As much as she wanted it, the last thing I wanted to do was just cram it in there. That was a good way to hurt someone, which was definitely not what I wanted.

I was ready to take things slow and get her ready. “Alright, let’s—”

Zia pushed me aside and pressed her face between Leena’s cheeks, running her tongue up and down her little pink asshole.

Leena initially flinched at her sudden touch, but then smiled as she relaxed. “That is so nice,” she said, and went back to kissing Silvy.

“Is there any room for me?” Tressi asked, putting her hands on her ample hips.

Still kissing Silvy, Leena moved her right arm up so that Tressi could move in. And she did just that, and immediately began licking and sucking on Leena’s small, perky breasts and Silvy’s massive, round ones.

“I’m ready,” Leena said, breaking her kiss just long enough to say that. She stuck her tongue straight out and Silvy did the same, the two beautiful women rubbing their tongues together, then Leena pushed her tongue into Silvy’s mouth like she was fucking he with it.

Zia finally moved aside and wiped saliva from her mouth. She took hold of my cock and spat on it, then guided the tip right up against Leena’s asshole. God, even the woman’s butthole was perfect, like a pale inside-out balloon knot.

Zia squeezed the base of my cock and spat on the tip again, then looked up at me and smiled. “Be gentle with my wife, okay?” She winked.

I had never been so turned on in my life. I reached out and placed my hands on Leena’s ass and began to gently push. The head pressed against her hole and started to enter.

“Oh yes,” she said. “Right there, just like that.”

I continued applying gentle pressure, and the head began to slip inside. She moaned and pushed back against me, eager for it.

A loud knocking sounded at the door. I wasn’t sure if I was hearing things correctly, but it came again a few seconds later. It sounded urgent.

“Are you serious?” I asked. I could have just yelled at them to come back later—I was king, after all—but that knocking sounded urgent.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Leena said. She looked as disappointed as I felt.

“Hold on, I’ll be right back,” I said, grabbing a cloak that was thrown over the edge of the bed.

“Hey that’s fine, more for me!” Zia said, and placed her face between Leena’s cheeks again.

Their soft moaning continued while I hurried to the door. I tried to wrap the cloak around myself in a way that hid my boner. Whoever was there knocked again.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming,” I muttered, and pulled the door open a crack.

It was one of the royal guards. He immediately heard the moaning from within the room and his face darkened as he blushed. “I’m terribly sorry, Your Majesty, but I have an urgent message for you.”

“What is it?” I asked, trying not to sound too irritated.

“There was a gnoll attack in the forest about an hour ago,” he said.

Well, that certainly caught my attention. “Is everyone okay?” I asked.

“Mostly,” he replied, speaking hastily. “Healers took care of the goblins. We managed to kill some of the gnolls and run the others off. There’s one survivor, but here’s the strange thing. He spoke our language. Only a few words, but he has a message for you. At least, that’s what I was told.”

“Well, shit,” I said. Definitely not what I had been expecting.

6

Iclosed the door and ran back into the room, pausing for a moment to look longingly at my wives. They were in a tangle of flesh, mostly centered around pleasing Leena.

“You had better not be leaving,” Leena said. Zia’s face was still buried in her ass.

“I’m really sorry,” I said. “Something important came up. I’ll be back in around an hour.”

I watched them for another moment, my heart pounding. Ugh, having to leave that was pure torture. Instead, I ran to my wardrobe and fetched some clothes. Pulling on my pants was difficult due to my boner, which refused to go down because I kept looking over at the orgy happening on my bed.

Taking a deep breath, I focused on getting dressed. After pulling on a shirt over my head, I fastened my sword belt around my waist. I decided to grab a cloak as well, remembering how Zia told me I dressed like a commoner all too often. At least none of my cloaks were plain.

I turned back to the door but looked over at my wives again. Finally unable to resist, I ran over to Leena and knelt behind her. I gently pushed Zia aside and ran my tongue up Leena’s backside, from her soaking-wet pussy up to her asshole and back. After that I placed a kiss on each of her cheeks, then hurried away.

“I’ll be back!” I said as I ran to the door. They answered me with moans.

Wow, I felt like I could run a mile in five minutes flat at that moment. Anything to get back to the bedroom and pick up where we left off.

“I apologize if I interrupted anything, Your Majesty,” the guard said when I stepped into the hallway. He pointedly looked away from the door.

“You’re fine,” I told him. “You’re just doing your job. No reason to apologize. Now, take me to this gnoll that apparently wants to talk to me.”

“Right away, Your Majesty,” he said, and started off down the hall.

For being only five feet tall, he walked quickly. I had to hurry to keep pace. Well, that was exactly what I wanted at that moment. I was half-tempted to ask him to start jogging.

Two royal guards flanked the entrance to the tunnel that left the Royal District. They saluted me, fist to chest, as I approached. I returned the salute and hurried down the long tunnel.

As I walked down the tunnel, I found myself thinking about just how long it was. Now that I was in a hurry, it seemed to take forever to walk down the long, sloping floor. About six months ago when I had been going in the other direction on my way to kill Ralcor, the tunnel seemed to pass by in the blink of an eye.

Funny how things worked that way.

After thinking that, I found myself grateful that the soldiers accepted me. I mean, I had killed their previous king, after all. Well, Althidon and the ghost of Silvy’s son did, but Althidon told me to just tell everyone I had done it. They’d take me more seriously that way.

Of course, Ralcor had been a giant prick. So, once the soldiers got over the fact that I was a usurper, they calmed down quite a lot. And without Ralcor’s influence, they became happier, less stressed, and did their jobs better, too. Now, they were glad to have me as king. They liked working for a guy that appreciated them.

With all that was going through my mind, I managed to avoid staring when we passed the hot springs. The guard walking in front of me definitely got an eyeful, but I couldn’t blame him. It was a busy time of day and the springs were filled with people cleaning off the sweat of the day, many of them women.

We passed through the short tunnel that led us to the Tunnel District, then made an almost immediate right turn into the long tunnel that took us outside. I smiled as we passed the old, worn trail that went to Silvy’s old house.

I couldn’t walk down the long entrance tunnel without my mind being flooded with memories as well. Memories of trying to sneak by the guards, of walking behind Zia and Tressi and watching their butts undulate up and down with each step. Those memories helped me to remember how far I’d come in such a short period of time.

“Right up here a bit,” the guard said as we exited the tunnel.

We crossed the strip of dirt and grass that separated the edge of the mountain with the forest, and then we found ourselves among the towering trees and thick bushes. A bit to our left I saw the nearest great tree.

Now that my people spent a lot less time foraging, the forest had started to recover. Anything near the mouth of the tunnel had long since been picked bare, but as we walked I saw more than one bush covered in berries. As there were more berries and fruit, there were more birds. And, I imagine where there were more birds, there were more predators. It was the cycle of life, and it was growing.

“Over this way,” the guard said, and we hurried through the trees.

It took us perhaps twenty minutes to walk to the site of the attack—I noticed the guard had broken small branches and torn up patches of grass to mark the path. That was good thinking on his part.

When we finally reached the area, we found four more guards standing alert. Lying on the ground further away were nearly a dozen gnoll corpses. Finally, my first look at a gnoll.

They were about as tall as a goblin woman, with ruddy brown skin. They were hairy little guys, with protruding faces that looked like snouts. They all had dense beards and bushy eyebrows, with little black eyes beneath them. Most of the corpses had their hair in braids, with bones and beads threaded on them. That made sense, as they had been described as tribal.

In short, they were about as ugly as a creature could be.

One of them was away from the group of corpses, leaning his back against a tree. His breath came in labored gasps, and he clutched at a bleeding wound in his stomach. Two goblin guards flanked him, each with a spear held ready, although the gnoll was in no shape to make a run for it.

“You can relax a bit,” I said to the guards. I knelt in front of the gnoll and examined him. I had no clue how they aged, but I saw some gray in his whiskers and beard.

He grunted at me, then opened his mouth to talk. All that came out was a wet cough. “Ah, that hurts,” he muttered.

“If you help me, I can heal you,” I told him, trying to make my voice gentle.

Even in his dying state, his head snapped up. “How do you speak our tongue?” he asked. He barely had the strength to speak. His voice was little more than a whisper.

“Kind of a long story,” I said. “But it involves magic.”

“He speaks the gnoll language?” one of the guards asked the other.

“Amazing,” came the reply.

“You are…a strange creature,” the gnoll said. He closed his eyes and took a deep, rattling breath, then continued. “They’re coming.” His breath wheezed, and he tried again. “Coming for you.”

I reached out with blood magic and felt through his body. He was covered in cuts and bruises, but the one doing him in was the gaping hole in his upper stomach. I had never healed anything that serious with blood magic before, but I gave it a try.

He gasped in pain as his flesh began to move and crawl on its own. His bleeding stopped, and I forced his body to start making more blood. It wouldn’t be enough, but perhaps it could keep him alive for a bit longer. The wound didn’t close all the way, but it looked like it had been healing for half a week after my efforts.

“How…” he trailed off, too weak to talk.

“Who is coming for us?” I asked.

“Not too many…. He’s overconfident. Have to…be careful though. Huge bastards. Hard to kill.” He stopped and took a few breaths. His eyes drifted closed.

“Hey, stay with me now,” I said.

“So tired,” he whispered. “Fucking stomach hurts. Asshole stabbed me. We were trying to warn…..”

“Who, us? You were trying to warn goblins?”

“Tasty flesh,” he said. “Such tasty flesh. But we don’t want the…. The….”

“Hey, wake up,” I said, snapping my fingers. With a frown, I felt through his body with blood magic. He was still alive, but only just.

His eyes opened a fraction, then closed again. “We were trying to…warn you,” he whispered.

“Take him back to our city so he can heal. Keep him guarded at all times, but put him on a bed and give him food and water,” I told the nearby guards. “And be careful with him. I know he’s a gnoll and they’re our enemies, but we might be able to make an ally out of this guy. If we can do that, he can tell us a lot of things we can use.”

The guards frowned, but reached down and grabbed onto the gnoll.

“Gently,” I said firmly.

“What did he say, Your Majesty?” one of the soldiers asked me after saluting.

I returned his salute as I watched the soldiers carry the gnoll away. “He said something is coming. Something big, and hard to kill. They came here to warn us, but were attacked.” I gave the soldier a sharp look at that and he held up both hands.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. They usually attack on site. We see a group that big, we know it’s a problem. Didn’t know one of them spoke a bit of our language until everything was done.”

I watched the soldiers carrying the gnoll away. “I just hope he has information for us. Something we can use. I have a feeling that once he heals and gets some food in him, he’ll be ready to cooperate.”

“So, something is coming for us, and it’s big.” The soldier frowned. “What do you think it is?”

“Huge bastards that are hard to kill.” I turned to the soldier. “What does that sound like?”

His face paled. “Trolls.”

I nodded and turned back to the soldiers carrying him away. “Trolls are coming for us.”

7

Iled the group of goblin soldiers back to our yet-unnamed city. After a few minutes we caught up with the soldiers carrying the gnoll, and walked with them. Many of the soldiers spoke quietly on how strange it was that a gnoll spoke some of the goblin language, and that their king spoke gnoll fluently. That truly amazed them.

“Have any of you fought a troll before?” I asked them.

“I have,” one soldier said. He stepped up so he was walking next to me, on my left side. “Name’s Cort, Your Majesty.

“So, what can you tell me about fighting trolls?” I needed every advantage I could get.

He thought for a moment. “Well, fighting trolls isn’t really a fight you can win, at least out in the open. There were two of them. We had the luck of guarding a large foraging party when we saw them. Using long spears, we were able to drive them away. Especially when the women began pelting them with rocks. I think they just got annoyed with us, to be honest. We didn’t do much damage. They could have swatted us down if they really wanted to.”

“Great,” I said. “Well, at least we’ll be underground this time.”

The soldier nodded. “They won’t make it through the tunnel, Your Majesty. And if one of them dies in the tunnel, it’ll block it so the rest can’t pass.”

“Maybe that can be our plan,” I said. “If they try to attack us underground, I’ll just kill one of them in the tunnel to block it.”

“A good plan, Your Majesty,” he said.

“Yeah, until they drag his body out,” I said.

“Well, then we’ll just have to kill another one. They’ll get the point, eventually.” He chuckled.

“Ha. Very true. I think that tunnel will be our saving grace. Anyone attacking that has a death wish.” Even Althidon had once said that trying to attack through that tunnel was a quick route to failure.

I thought briefly about the trolls, specifically their size. They wouldn’t fit very well in the tunnel, so they would have to crouch or crawl. That would make them extremely vulnerable, but I had to remember how strong they were. They would probably have crazy thick armor on, too.

Of course, that wouldn’t save them from my magic. Also, Silvy had once mentioned that she knew some troll magic. I made a mental note to ask her about that later.

“Do trolls wear armor?” I asked the soldier.

“Not very often,” Cort replied. “Most of the ones we see are just wandering around, probably looking for someone or something to eat. Their skin is damn thick, though, basically like armor itself. And you’d be surprised at how quietly they can walk. They can sneak up on just about anything. Don't see so good, but they'll smell you.”

“Interesting,” I said. “I’m going to assume the ones coming here are different, and will be wearing armor. Best to play it safe.”

“Now, an armored troll crawling through the tunnel, that would be interesting,” Cort said, frowning as he thought about it. “Especially if that armor’s too tough for spears. I suppose he could crawl all the way through and get inside the city that way.”

“Well, now we know what we need to prepare for,” I replied.

“How do we even prepare for that, though?” he asked.

“There are two ways to do it,” I explained. “First, we fight dirty. I’m a big fan of that. And second, I can just use blood magic on them and kill them right there, on the spot.”

We approached the entrance to the goblin city and the soldier standing there spoke up.

“Learn anything useful, Your Majesty?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Not really. We’re bringing him back to recover, so hopefully he can tell us what’s going on.”

The soldier frowned, but nodded. Goblins had little love for gnolls, but he trusted his king. I just hoped to continue making good decisions so I could keep that trust.

I looked behind me as we entered the tunnel. Two goblin soldiers were holding the gnoll between them. He was barely conscious, so I reached into his body with blood magic and tried to heal him a bit more. It was no use. His wound was too large, too serious for me to heal on the spot. It would take some time, even with magic.

Taranath had once taken an arrow in the gut and I healed that, but that had only been a hole the diameter of my pinky finger. This guy looked like he got stabbed with a spear that was then twisted and yanked out, pulling some guts with it. I mean, he was in bad shape. That was clearly too much for a single healing, or something I could direct with mere bloodflow.

We strode down the tunnel with me in front, the men carrying the gnoll right behind me, and the rest of the soldiers bringing up the rear. The tunnel was empty other than us, and for that I was grateful. I didn’t feel like having to deal with goblin citizens panicking at the sight of a gnoll in their city. Which gave me an idea.

“Hey, one of you throw your cloak over him,” I said over my shoulder. “I don’t want people to see what we have with us.”

The soldiers quickly complied and one of them removed his cloak, then draped it over the gnoll. Now we just had to hurry, so he’d make it there alive.

“Hey, keep people from getting too close,” I said to Cort as we came to the end of the tunnel.

“Right away, Your Majesty,” he said. He stepped in front of me and set a quick pace. Any time someone came clear enough to see what we had, he yelled “Make way for the king!” in a commanding voice. That was enough to get the job done.

I needed to visit the hot springs. That thought occurred to me very briefly as we passed by. I tried to go daily, both to stay clean and because the mineral water seemed to be good for my skin and hair. Tonight, I’d go. Once all this was done.

“Make way for the king!” Cort called out again, and a group of goblins in front of us moved to the side. The men bowed and the women curtseyed.

I acknowledged them all with a smile and wave. I felt kind of like a douche when all these people constantly bowed for me, but I had to remember that I was a king. That was something Silvy had drilled into my head in the first days after killing Ralcor: I needed to be on a pedestal.

I wasn’t just a man, I was a concept, she had said. An idea. For me to rub elbows with commoners and drink and laugh with them—which was honestly what I wanted to do—simply wouldn’t do. People would see me as a person, not a king.

“But that’s what I want,” I had told Silvy. “I want everyone to trust me and to see me as a friend. Someone they like having in charge.”

“No, you don’t,” she said firmly. “People see you as a man, then they see you as fallible. Then they see you as replaceable. Be a god to them. Something impossible to comprehend. Wow them at every opportunity.”

It was advice I had taken to heart.

“Welcome back, Your Majesty,” one of the guards said at the entrance to the tunnel to the Royal District.

I acknowledged his salute with a nod of my head and we continued up the long tunnel. Once we entered the Royal District, I directed the soldiers to put him in a cell in the jail.

“Make sure he’s at least somewhat comfortable,” I told them. “I know we aren’t fans of gnolls around here, but we need this guy to heal so we can get some information out of him. Got it?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” they said as one, and all saluted.

“Alright, if there’s nothing else, I have some things I need to get back to,” I told them.

After that, I left and ran up the stairs to the throne room. I found it a rather interesting design; the throne room was the most prominent part of the palace, right out there in the open in the Royal District. The rest of the palace was behind it, carved into the mountain. Well, at least it made it easy to meet with people and talk with them. That was probably why it had been designed that way.

So of course the moment I crossed the throne room, the small door at the back opened and Kord emerged. He hurried towards me, then bowed when he came near.

“Good evening, Your Majesty,” he said. “I wanted to ask you about our exploratory team for the new city. I heard there was another attack.”

“Yeah,” I said. “We brought one of the gnolls back so I could question him and maybe get some answers out of him.”

“You…speak their language?” he asked, his eyes wide.

“I speak every language,” I told him with a shrug.

“My. You truly were a gift from the gods, Your Majesty. Well, with news of this recent attack, I wanted to ask if you felt safe sending a team out.”

I thought for a moment. Most of the attacks and sightings had come from the east, whereas we were planning on going south for the new city. “I think we’ll be fine,” I said. “Take a squad of soldiers with you and have them bring spears. Actually, General Rolf wanted to send soldiers with them, so that’s perfect. The attacks are happening to the east, so as long as you go south I think we’re okay. Plus they’ll have some women with them, so they’ll have magic. They’ll be fine.”

“Right, Your Majesty,” Kord said with another bow. “I suppose if anything does happen, the women can simply set the gnolls on fire.” He made it sound half a question, as if he were unsure.

“Exactly,” I said. “And trust me, the women won’t hesitate to protect themselves with magic. When are you sending the team out?”

“Tomorrow morning at first light,” he replied.

I reached out and clapped the small man on his shoulder. “You work quickly, Kord. I appreciate that.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” he said with a bow of his head. After that, the spindly old man hurried away. Knowing him, he probably had the exploratory team ready to go.

“Alright,” I said, clapping my hands and rubbing them together.

Unfortunately this quick trip outside wound up taking several hours, but I was finally done. I was ready to go see my wives and pick up where we left off.

“Your Majesty,” said a middle-aged servant, curtseying low so I could get a wonderful view down the front of her dress. She caught me looking and gave me a knowing smile.

I chuckled to myself as I walked away. I had no desire to do anything with any of these other women, but it was nice to look at times. Especially since Zia apparently had their uniforms altered just to give me a better view.

“Welcome back, Your Majesty,” said Alena, my personal servant, as I approached my bedchambers. She curtseyed deeply as I walked up to her.

She was a younger goblin woman, attractive, as they all were. The front of her dress was not only cut low, but she had tugged it down some and hoisted her large breasts so that they practically spilled out. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how her dress even held them in. Had someone invented double-sided tape when I wasn’t looking?

“Thanks,” I said to her. The fantastic view of her massive breasts helped put me in the right mood. I grabbed the door and pushed it open, ready to please my wives.

And as I stepped inside the room, I found them all asleep on the bed, still naked. Silvy was curled up in Leena’s arms, with Tressi and Zia on either side of them. The whole room smelled like sex.

I stepped quietly across the room to the wardrobe and began undressing. Judging from how tangled the sheets were, it looked like they had quite the time while I was gone. I didn’t feel any sadness at having missed out; there was always tomorrow, after all. Besides, it was good to know my wives were happy.

Once I had gotten undressed, I padded over to the bed and pulled the sheet back. I slipped under the covers and pulled Tressi over to me. She mumbled something in her sleep and threw an arm around me.

With a smile on my face, I went right to sleep.

8

Breakfast the next morning was a real treat. After taking a dip in the hot springs—a small section had been cordoned off, for royal use only, so I never had to wait for a pool—I walked back to the royal palace, feeling light on my feet. Even though I had missed out on some fun with my wives the night before, I slept great and felt wonderful.

When I arrived in the dining room, my wives were already there, chatting with each other while servants brought food. I sat at the head of the table, something that Silvy insisted on, with two of my wives on each side. Freshly baked bread with jam was the traditional goblin breakfast—always light, lunch was usually a heartier meal—so I was surprised when a busty serving woman set a platter in front of me and lifted the lid.

“Here you are, Your Majesty,” she said with a warm smile. “Poached quail eggs over fresh wilted greens, deer sausage, and an assortment of fruit grown here in the Farming District.”

“Impressive,” I said. Of course there was still a thick slice of fresh bread on the side, with a healthy layer of jam on it. I expected that much. “Thank you,” I told the woman.

“You spoke about breakfast back in your world once, after too much wine,” Tressi said. “You blathered on about how satisfying bacon and eggs were, especially with an english muffin on the side. We thought we’d give you a little treat, since you missed out on the fun last night.” She giggled.

“Oh, shush,” Zia said. “This is just because we love you, not because you were busy. Tressi, you keep that up and I’ll have to spank you.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” she said.

“No matter what the reasoning is, I appreciate it,” I said, taking a bite. It was, as I expected, incredible.

“So, what’s this I hear about a new city?” Silvy asked after swallowing a bite of deer bacon.

“Someone has done such a great job that our population is expected to grow rather substantially,” Zia said, smiling at me.

“Is that so?” Silvy asked. She gently rubbed her stomach. “Well, I guess I’m contributing to that.”

"You are," I told her. "You're carrying my heir. He'll be king after me."

Silvy's face brightened and she looked down at her stomach, content. She rubbed it lovingly and whispered a few things to the little guy swimming around in there.

“I think that’s exciting,” Leena said with a bright smile. “We’re slowly expanding Caelora, too, and growing new stairs on the tree closest to here.”

“We could dig a new district in the mountain, but it’s getting to be cumbersome,” I said. “So we decided to build a new one a few miles to the south. Kord is sending a team of goblins to investigate the next mountain in that direction. Some women are going to delve through the mountain with magic so we can determine if it’s appropriate for us.”

Silvy whistled softly. “A new city? I never thought I’d see the day. Things have always been quiet down here. We live quiet lives and don’t bother anyone if we can help it.” She took a deep breath. “And now we’re building a new city. And I’ve heard you want to connect with the elves as well?”

I nodded. “Yeah, we’re going to start a new tunnel that will spiral up and exit the side of the mountain about a hundred feet in the air. From that, we’ll build a bridge that will connect with the great trees of Caelora. Especially with the attacks recently, it makes sense to have a safer way for us to visit each other.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” Leena said. “It does get a bit cramped here, underground.” She gave the goblin women an apologetic smile. “No offense, but it does. This will make it easier for me to visit my family as well. Oh, and maybe we could grow some of the great trees near your new city, so we could be neighbors there as well!”

“I wonder if this will keep growing,” Zia wondered aloud. “If, one day, this will all be one huge city where goblins and elves live together.”

“That sounds like a dream to work towards,” I said. “We’ll have to grow out of the mountain, though. I know it’s safe, but it’s incredibly inconvenient.”

“We used to live on the ground,” Leena said. “The elves, that is. We grew tired of petty squabbles with other races, so we took to the trees for some peace. Perhaps we could build a city on the ground again one day.”

“No rush,” I said. “Those are great, but they’re all major changes. It’ll probably take a hundred years for any of that to happen. For now, we’ll focus on the new city and the bridge to Caelora.”

“Honey, is there any news on the attacks?” Tressi asked.

“An excellent conversation to have over breakfast,” Zia said. Tressi stuck her tongue out at her.

“A little,” I said. “Thanks to Silvy, I can speak pretty much any language. Our soldiers captured a gnoll yesterday and I was able to briefly speak to him before he passed out. We brought him back here to heal so I could talk to him later.”

“You brought a gnoll here?” Silvy asked flatly.

“What did he say?” Tressi asked.

“Yes, and hold on,” I said to them. “I know no one likes gnolls around here, but he had first-hand knowledge on what’s coming for us. Keeping him alive is the best thing to do. Besides, if we show him a little kindness, maybe word will spread to the other gnolls and they’ll stop trying to eat you.”

“And?” Tressi asked, sounding a bit impatient.

I washed that last bite down with a sip of some light wine. “I’m not completely certain yet, but I believe trolls are the cause of all this. They’re doing something and driving the gnolls and harpies out of their settlements. This gnoll we captured said they’re coming for us.”

“Trolls?” Tressi asked with a gasp. Zia dropped her fork onto her plate with a clatter.

“He didn’t outright say it, but yeah, I believe so,” I said. “I’ll try talking to him again today to see if he can give me any more information.”

“My goodness, that sounds horrible,” she said, looking down at her food as if her appetite had suddenly gone.

“Well, the key thing to remember is that trolls are huge, and we live underground,” I said. “And the only way into our city is through a tunnel. So if trolls are coming to attack us, they aren’t going to have a good time.”

“Giving some second thoughts to living underground, are we?” Silvy asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It has its benefits,” I said.

“Have you thought of a name yet?” Leena asked.

“For what?”

“For the city,” she said. “You’ve been muttering about it for months.”

“Oh.” I frowned. “Not yet. I feel like I’m close to something, though. I just want it to be a good name.”

“More wine, Your Majesty?” the serving girl asked as she held a small pitcher ready.

I looked down in my wine cup, not realizing I had finished it. “No thanks. It’s too early for two cups.”

“Suit yourself,” Zia said, holding out her cup so the serving girl could refill it.

“I just have too much to do,” I said, wiping my mouth with a napkin.

“Leaving us already?” Leena asked.

“Be safe around that beast,” Silvy said.

“I will, I promise,” I said. “I’ll see you all soon.”

And with that, I got up and left the dining room. Of course as soon as I left the room a servant brought me an embroidered red cloak. Another servant approached me with a small bowl of water and a fresh towel, and I used those to wash my hands and face. Okay, sometimes it was nice being king.

Afterwards, I strolled through the palace and went to the throne room. No one was there except for an older servant, who was busy cleaning things. She looked up at me and I gave her a friendly smile. She quickly glanced around, ensuring no one else was in the room, then pulled down the neckline of her dress and exposed both of her large breasts and shimmied her shoulders.

I laughed. They were too much sometimes. I might have to talk to Zia about it.

“Thanks, I needed that,” I said.

“Just doing my part to help, Your Majesty,” she said with a wink as she tucked her breasts back into the top of her dress.

Still chuckling to myself, I crossed the throne room and went to the top of the stairs. I had an excellent view of the Royal District from there. It was quite beautiful in a rather monotonous way; everything being carved from the same rock tended to do that.

I hurried down the stairs, greeting the soldiers standing there, then walked over to the jail where the gnoll was being held. A gray-haired goblin man was seated at a desk there, running a short sword across a sharpening stone as if he wanted to use it.

“Good morning!” I said as I entered the room.

He looked up and immediately stood when he noticed it was me. “Good morning, Your Majesty,” he said, giving me a salute.

“How is our guest?” I asked.

The guard frowned. “He’s awake, and he’s been taking food and water. Vicious bastard tried to bite me. I almost handled him myself before I remembered you didn’t want him hurt.”

“I know you don’t like him or his kind, but we’re trying to get information,” I said. “Can I see him?”

The guard nodded. “Right this way, Your Majesty.”

He led me to the rear of the building, where a row of cells had been carved into the stone. Each cell had a bed, a sink, and a toilet, with thick iron bars across the front of the room. The gnoll was lying on his back, eyes open. Both of his hands were over his stomach. He looked to be resting.

“Hey, are you awake in there?” I asked.

His head snapped up at the sound of my voice. “You,” he said, his eyes narrowing. “Why am I here? Am I a prisoner?”

“Go ahead and open the door,” I said to the guard.

He unlocked the cell door and pulled it open, then stood there with his short sword in hand, giving the gnoll a hard glare. I could tell he was eager to use it.

I walked into the cell with the gnoll as if I wasn’t bothered at all by the furry beast. “Well, you are a prisoner. Remember, your people like to eat goblins.”

“Such tasty flesh,” he said under his breath.

“You know eating them doesn’t give you magical powers, right?”

“Nonsense,” he replied. “Of course it does.”

“Have you ever eaten a goblin?” I asked. I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer.

“I have,” he said with pride. “A young one. The flesh was tender and sweet, and—”

“And do you have any magical powers?” I asked.

The gnoll frowned. “Well, no. I need more flesh. It takes more than a few bites to grant us magical powers.”

“Or, maybe whoever told you that was full of shit,” I said. “I was granted magical powers by the gods. I didn’t eat anyone to get them.”

His eyes narrowed and he glared at me, clearly not happy that I was telling him he was living a lie.

“I am called Orkec,” he said.

“I’m Aaron,” I said in return.

“Aaron? What a strange name. At least the goblin names make sense.”

I threw my hands up. “Aaron is like the simplest, most common name out there, what are you talking about?” I shook my head. “No, nevermind. Okay, Orkec. So I’m guessing you were talking about trolls earlier, when you gave me that warning. What can you tell me about the trolls?”

“They’re coming,” he said.

“Yeah, I gathered that much,” I told him. “I need details. How many? When are they coming? Where are they now?”

I frowned. “I don’t know. They attacked our settlement just a few days gone. Half of my people are dead; the rest fled through the forest. The harpies live north of us and were attacked a day later.”

“Why did they attack you?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he said again. “They didn’t seem to be after anything in particular. Usually if trolls raid, it’s because they want something. Food, a water source, even good steel. Not that we have much.”

“They were just killing you?” I asked.

“I think,” Orkec said. He let out a heavy sigh. “So many of us dead, and we don’t even know why. The trolls have never been good neighbors, but they usually minded their own business as long as we kept our distance. Sometimes we even traded with them.”

“So, what happened? What changed?”

He thought for a moment. “They got a new king recently. Well, not recently. A few months ago.” He looked up at me for a moment. “He’s around your size. Wears steel armor covered in spikes. A horrible monster.”

“Do you think this new king pushed the trolls to attack?” I asked.

Orkec nodded. “I do. Ever since he came into power, things have changed with the trolls. No more trading. They’ll attack us on sight. And as I said, they burned our settlement to the ground just a few days ago, and the harpies as well.”

“Such wanton destruction,” I said. “There has to be a reason behind it.”

“If there is, I don’t know it,” Orkec said. “But I do know that some trolls are coming this way. Maybe a dozen of them. I don’t know, I don’t count so good. I slept the night, right? So, they should be here soon. Two, maybe three days. I overheard them talking about it as I was sneaking through the remains, looking for my things.”

“Why did you come to warn us?” I asked. That seemed strange behavior for a gnoll.

“We don’t really like goblins. Elves either, for that matter.” He grunted as if thinking about just how much he disliked both races. “But these trolls are killing everyone. Someone needs to stop them.”

“So, a dozen trolls are coming to attack us in two or three days?” I asked, clarifying.

“That’s what I said,” he replied irritably. “Look, I’ve given you all the information I have. I’m just asking for a little something in return.”

“Like what?” I asked.

“Do you have any deformed babies?” He spoke like a man describing his favorite pizza toppings. “Maybe some children that misbehave too much? A nephew you don’t like? Stepmother?”

“You’re not eating any goblins,” I said firmly.

He pouted. “Fine. But I should get something for all the information I gave you.”

“You get to keep your life,” I told him. Using blood magic, I reached into his body. The wound in his stomach was still ragged, but it was healing. I directed it to heal a bit more.

He shivered at the feeling of his flesh crawling together. I knew firsthand that it was quite unpleasant.

“I healed you more so you know I’m not out to hurt you,” I said. “In a day or two you should be fully healed, and we’ll let you return to your people with a pack full of supplies. Now, stop trying to eat goblins. They don’t give you any magical powers. Hell, the males can’t even use magic.”

His eyes widened. “So it’s the women I have to eat—”

“Don’t eat goblins!” I said firmly. “Jesus Christ, Orkec. I’ll have some food brought to you if you’re hungry.”

He sagged a bit. “Yes, that would be nice.”

“And thank you for your information. You may have saved many lives today.” I thought for a moment. “If I can help save your people, let me know. But no more eating goblins, okay?”

“You drive a hard bargain,” he said. “When the trolls are done killing the goblins, they’ll go for the elves. After that, they’ll hunt us down and kill the last of us. If you kill the trolls and their king, you will be saving my people.”

I offered him my hand. “Deal.”

He stared at my hand for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.

“Don’t eat my fucking hand!” I snapped. I reached out and grabbed his hand with mine, then shook it. “Where I’m from, you do that when you agree to something. Or just as a sign of respect.”

“So you’ll kill the trolls?” he asked. There was a hint of hope in his voice.

“Yes,” I told him. “I’ll kill the trolls.” After all, I knew blood magic.

How hard could it be?”

9

“Give him some food and water,” I told the guard on my way out. “He gave me plenty of good information, so try to be nice. Watch your fingers, though.”

The guard grunted, but saluted me. “Your Majesty,” he said.

With everything being so localized in the Royal District, it was easy for me to find General Rolf. Most of the officers operated out of a single building. The goblin military wasn’t particularly large, so it was sufficient.

“Good day, Your Majesty,” a young soldier said, saluting as I entered.

“Hey, is the general in?” I asked.

“Yes sir. He’s in his office, sir, the soldier said.

“Thanks,” I said, clapping him on the shoulder. The goblins sometimes found that gesture strange, but it was natural to me.

Making my way through the halls of this building bordered on being a nightmare. Every soldier had to salute me, greet me, wish me a good day. I nearly pulled the hood of my cloak up and tried to sneak through. Although considering the amount of golden embroidery on my cloak, that probably wouldn't work. Finally, though, I made it to the general’s office.

I knocked twice and pushed the door open a few inches. “Hey, general. Got a minute?” I asked.

“Yes, please come in, Your Majesty,” he said.

I pushed the door open the rest of the way and entered, then closed the door behind me. General Rolf had his jacket off and was seated behind his desk. Several neat stacks of papers sat on it, including one I suspected was Kord’s doing.

“Is that for a squad to accompany the exploratory team?” I asked.

He nodded. “They’re leaving as we speak, Your Majesty,” he said. “I sent eight of my best soldiers with them, so they’ll be safe. We should hear back from them tomorrow. The day after, at the very latest.”

I frowned. That was cutting it close. “I spoke with our gnoll prisoner,” I said.

His mouth curved into a frown. “A foul beast. I hope he at least told you something useful.”

“He did, actually.” I took a deep breath. “In two or three days, trolls will attack the city. I think they might attack Caelora as well.”

General Rolf stared at me for a moment. “Are you certain, Your Majesty?”

“That’s what Orkec—the gnoll—told me, and I believe him. The trolls destroyed the gnoll settlement, and the harpies as well. Now they’re coming for us.”

“Miserable bastards,” the general muttered. “Honestly I’m not even sure who I’m referring to. Well, our enemies killing our enemies would be a good thing, but now they’re coming for us, it seems. Do you know how many trolls are coming?”

“He said he wasn’t good with numbers, but it was around a dozen,” I said. “From what I understood, Orkec fled the gnoll settlement as it was being destroyed and overheard a few things when he returned to fetch some of his stuff.”

“Yes, that makes sense,” General Rolf said. “The gnolls and trolls speak each other’s languages, seeing as they’re so close. Simply being in the right place at the right time could yield some good intel, especially if you’re a troll and don’t think a gnoll is worth paying attention to.”

“The important thing is we have two or three days to prepare for this,” I said. “Although I’m not so certain we have a lot to prepare for. There’s only one way into the city; the tunnel. A troll would have to crawl through there, but if he’s wearing good armor, he’d still be damn hard to kill. I figured our best bet is for me to use my magic to kill them. A single dead troll will block the tunnel, after all.”

The general nodded. “We’ll have to get word to the elves as well. They are unparalleled archers, and can rain arrows down upon the trolls.”

“Good call. Do you have a messenger? Uh, a runner?”

He nodded. “I do.” He picked up a bell of all things, and rang it once.

A moment later, a young goblin man entered the room. His eyes widened upon seeing me in the room, but the general gave him no chance to react.

“You are to take a message to both Althidon and the elven king, do you understand?”

“Yes sir,” the runner said, saluting with his fist over his heart. “I’m ready, sir.”

“Good. Tell them that a dozen trolls will be attacking our city as well as Caelora in two or three days. We wish to work together to ensure our survival.”

The young soldier gasped. “Trolls?”

“Don’t think about it,” the general said firmly. “Just deliver the message.”

“Yes, sir,” he said, and saluted again. With that, he hurried from the room.

“How long does it take him to get a message to the elves?” I asked.

“He’ll run the entire way there,” General Rolf said. “They’ll get the message in about half an hour. He’s made a round trip in an hour before, but was pretty out of breath after that. He’s a good kid. Shows promise. He's building connections with this job that will ensure a solid future.”

Surely there had to be some magical way for us to communicate with the elves without such a delay. Still, a fast runner was what we had, so I moved on.

Wait, didn’t Althidon have some magical way of sending messages? He had done so months ago, the night I stayed at his place. He sent a message to Taranath, somehow. I made a mental note to ask him about that. I had been so busy as king that I had forgotten about it.

“I’ll leave the fighting to you, general,” I said. “You know more about it than I do. Just make sure we’re prepared.”

He nodded, then pushed himself to his feet. “We’ll start preparing immediately, sir.” With that, he saluted me.

“I’m going to be leaving with Taranath and some of your soldiers in a few minutes to do a patrol of the forest,” I said. “Although to be honest, I’m not sure what else we can learn, after I spoke to Orkec. Hopefully we’ll come across some other survivors that have seen something.”

“Hopefully so, Your Majesty,” he said. “We’ll be ready for whatever comes our way, don’t you worry.”

“Thanks,” I told him. “I’m glad I have you in charge. I know I can count on you.”

That comment left him beaming. Nothing like a bit of positive reinforcement when death was marching for our front gate.

After that I left his office, suffered through a hundred other salutes, then left the building. Taranath would be waiting for me, probably at the entrance. I decided to walk straight there.

I smiled as I remembered my shadow stone. Out of habit, I still kept it in my pocket wherever I went. Well, with that, I wouldn’t have to constantly salute and greet people. Problem solved.

I popped the stone into my mouth and immediately became invisible, or close enough. Finally able to move unhindered, I hurried down the tunnel that spiraled down from the Royal District, then moved quickly through the hot springs.

Of course I took a few seconds to admire the beauty of the goblin women. At that moment, a beautiful goblin woman was splashing water onto her friend. Both of them were naked, and I grinned like a kid as I watched their massive breasts bouncing around as they frolicked.

Okay, enough tits for the day. I had work to do. I walked away from the springs and made my way towards the entrance tunnel.

As I strode down the tunnel, I hoped my presence wouldn’t bring back any bad memories for any guards I might run into. Before I became king, I had a habit of messing with the guards so I could pass. Of course, I had killed a few of them as well. Hey, I did whatever it took to survive.

The early afternoon sun made the end of the tunnel practically glow. I removed the shadow stone from my mouth and slipped it back into my pocket so I wouldn’t freak anyone out.

A tall man was silhouetted against the bright daylight at the mouth of the tunnel. As I walked closer, I recognized him as my elven friend Taranath. He was speaking with the goblin guard posted there, probably telling him bad jokes.

“Good to see you, Taranath,” I said, clapping him on the shoulder.

“Well, King Aaron,” he replied with a smile. “How are you today?”

“Ready to get this done,” I said. “I was able to speak to a captured gnoll earlier, so I have some information to run by you.”

“A squad of men should be here soon to accompany you, Your Majesty,” the posted guard told me. He glanced up at the position of the sun in the sky. “Yeah, should be any minute, now.”

I walked a few steps away with Taranath. “We’ll be heading straight east,” I said.

“You sound like you know something I want to know,” he said.

“That’s one way to put it,” I told him. “I’ll wait until the soldiers arrive so I don’t have to repeat myself.”

“Ah, the life of a king,” he quipped. “Filled with such intense struggles such as having to repeat one’s self. You truly were sent by the gods, for no regular man could make it through that unaided.”

“Oh, shut up,” I told him. His jokes always lifted my mood, though. It was good to have him around. I noticed his bow was slung across his back, and he had a quiver of arrows at his hip. Good. Hopefully we wouldn’t need them.

“Hey, have you ever come across any harpies?” I asked.

“Oh, no. I avoid them at all costs,” he said. “Any man with half a brain would do the same. You know their magic only affects men, right?”

“Yeah, good point,” I said. Zia had mentioned that earlier, when we talked with the general. “Well, without a woman here, we’ll just have to be careful, I guess. If we see any harpies, we’ll avoid them.”

“Are you expecting to come across any harpies?” Taranath asked, suddenly sounding concerned.

“Possibly,” I said. “Them and some gnolls. If my guess is correct, today is one of the last days we’ll see them moving through the forest. After that, they’ll be gone. They’re relocating.” I shrugged. “Well, kinda. I’ll explain when the other soldiers get here.”

“Well, if you see a harpy, be careful not to make eye contact,” Taranath said. “And try to block out their song. Stick your fingers in your ears if you have to. I haven’t seen it, but I’ve been told about it before. They’ll sing to you, call to you, and you’ll be powerless to resist. You’ll walk right to them, thinking you’re going to have the time of your life, right up to the point where they tear you apart with their talons and beaks.”

“Jesus, that sounds worse than my ex girlfriend. Maybe I should go get Silvy.”

But at that moment, a squad of goblin soldiers emerged from the mouth of the tunnel, each wielding a long spear. And, walking in the middle of them, was Queen Zia.

While her elaborately embroidered dress wasn’t appropriate for walking around in the woods, at least her tall boots were. She had a hooded cloak on as well, which hid some of her curves. That was probably for the best; no one would be able to concentrate with her around otherwise, especially considering how she liked to flaunt her beauty at times.

“I was just thinking about how nice it would be to have one of my wives here,” I said, bending down to kiss her as she walked up to me.

“Well, you’re lucky,” she said. “You get me. Tressi went with the exploratory team, since she’s stronger with moving stone and delving through rock. Silvy and Leena will run the place while we’re gone. Hi Taranath.”

“Hello, dear,” he said with a smile. “I’m glad you’re coming with us, since King Aaron seems to think we might run into harpies.”

“Uh, what?” she asked.

“Everyone gather around,” I called out. “Alright, let’s get ready.”

10

The soldiers quickly formed into a half circle in front of me, and I explained our mission.

“As some of you know, I can understand any language, due to magic. Well, I spoke with a captured gnoll this morning and he gave me some dire news. I’m sure some of you have heard already, but trolls are on their way to attack us.”

“Trolls?” one soldier asked.

“They’ll break their teeth trying to get through our tunnel,” another said.

“General Rolf notified everyone just before we left,” said a third.

“I’m hoping we can learn more out here today,” I said. “Right now all we know is that a dozen trolls will be here in two or three days. We expect them to attack us and the elves.”

“Oh, great,” Taranath said. “Way to ruin my day.”

“At least you’re up in the trees,” one of the soldiers said.

“True,” Taranath muttered. “And they can’t really fit on the stairs.”

“Yeah, but trees are made of wood, and wood burns,” I said. “So you’re not fully safe. But my main point is that we don’t know exactly what they’ll be doing or how they’ll be attacking. We’re assuming they’ll try to make it through the tunnel into our city, seeing as that’s the only entrance. A heavily armored troll would stand a decent chance of making it through there, unless I can kill him with magic.”

“Ugh, that sounds awful,” Zia said.

“War always is,” I said. Not that I had much first-hand knowledge. “Anyways, so today we’re going to head east and look for any signs of more gnolls. If we come across any harpies I want to try to talk to them as well. Yes, I know about their magic. That’s why Queen Zia is here with us.”

“Do you think you can get much more information from them?” one of the soldiers asked.

“I damn sure hope so,” I said. “At this point, any additional information can potentially be a big help to us. Us and the elves.”

“Thanks for not forgetting me,” Taranath said.

“We were thinking your archers could rain arrows down on the trolls when they show up,” I said.

Taranath nodded. “Sounds rather effective, probably better than throwing rocks. Especially since rocks don't grow on trees. I’ll pass word to our fletchers when we get back.”

“Oh, General Rolf already sent a messenger to Althidon and the king,” I said. “So they’re probably doing that as we speak.”

“Well, I feel useless,” Taranath said, throwing up his hands.

“We just keep you around for the good company,” Zia said, giving him a laugh and a smile.

“Alright, men, let’s move out,” I said.

We started walking east, and I motioned for them to spread out. “Ten feet between each of you,” I called out to them. “Just make sure you can always see the man to your left and right. Speak up if you see anything.”

And with that, we were off. We covered a lot of ground with that many people spread out. It greatly increased our chances of finding anything.

I walked with Zia on my right side and Taranath on my left. I had no clue what to look for, so I left that to them.

“How quickly can you dig through stone?” I asked Zia as we walked.

“Not that fast, but certainly much more so than a man with a pickaxe,” she said. “Tressi is faster. Even Silvy is faster. Leena isn’t that great with stone, but she’s amazing with wood and water.”

“Several of you working together. How long would it take you to make that tunnel spiraling up to Caelora?”

“Oh, that idea of yours?” she said. “That would be a big tunnel, and long, since it has to go up so high. Sometimes we can move the stone around like clay, reshape it. For something like that we have to actually remove it in chunks, then workers take the rubble and move it out of the way.”

“So, how long?” I asked.

She frowned as she thought. “If we had a few women working together all day and night, with enough men to haul away the stone…. I don’t know. I think we could rough it out in about a week. A fine, finished tunnel would take three times that.”

“Damn,” I said.

“What?”

“I had been hoping we could rush that and make our connection with the elves. It would come in handy during an attack. Of course, then the elves would have to grow the great trees to meet up with our bridge. And that bridge would have to be built.” I shook my head. “Yeah, I thought it was simple. Just a tunnel, right? But that’ll take a lot of work.”

“As soon as we get back, I can have some women start on it,” Zia said. “Another group can start taking the rubble and forming it into the base for the bridge.”

I nodded. “Anything to get a head start. We can probably use some of the stone to build some form of defensive position around the mouth of the tunnel as well. Although to be honest, the tunnel itself is hard to improve on. Any troll that goes in there is going to die.”

Zia shivered. She was never comfortable when I talked like that.

We walked in silence for a bit after that. On several occasions the soldiers found tracks, but they were always from animals or goblin shoes. I tried not to get discouraged; realistically speaking, we needed to walk a solid mile or two from the mouth of the tunnel before we got to the area where the sightings had been.

“I’m tempted to ask you for a song,” I said to Taranath, only half seriously.

“Are you that bored?” he asked, then cleared his throat. “Let’s see—”

“No, no, we don’t want to announce our presence if we come across anyone,” I said. “Best we stay quiet and keep our eyes open.”

Taranath shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

We continued walking for what felt like forever, but I knew it was probably only an hour or so. I was about to call out for us to stop and rest for a bit when one of the soldiers saw something.

“Tracks, Your Majesty,” the soldier closest to me said, relaying the message from three soldiers away. “He says they’re gnoll tracks.”

“Alright, let’s keep our spread, but turn to follow those tracks,” I said.

We all turned and started moving slightly north from that point, all following the soldier tracking the footsteps. Several times he had to pause and search for them again, but he kept us on the trail.

“How do we know these aren’t three days old?” I asked.

“Cross your fingers,” Taranath said.

“I don’t think crossing your fingers will be enough,” Zia said.

“What makes you say that?” I asked.

She pointed ahead. “Harpy.”

I turned and was just able to make it out, a speck in the distance. I was hoping to avoid any harpies, but I would take what I could get.

“Alright, Zia has spotted a harpy,” I called out, pointing towards it. “Remember, don’t look her in the eyes, and try to ignore the song.”

“Should I sing instead?” Taranath asked.

“That’s actually not the worst idea,” Zia said. “Unless he falls under the spell, of course.”

“Well, at least I’ll be useful,” Taranath muttered.

“Zia, up here with me,” I said. “I’m the only one that can talk to the harpy, and you can make sure I don’t fall under her spell. However it works.”

“You’ll find out, soon enough,” she said.

We started walking in the direction of the harpy. Some of the soldiers made nervous comments, for which I didn’t blame them.

I tried not to focus directly on the harpy in front of me. Even though she was still quite far away, I didn’t want to take any chances. As we walked towards her, she grew from a speck, to a tiny figure, to something strange and horrifying.

Fortunately, her back was to us. I found myself staring at her, oddly fascinated. It looked like a tall, lithe woman with large wings instead of arms. She was scantily clad, only a few scraps of cloth covering her perfectly formed ass. Long brown hair fell halfway down her back.

As we came closer, she turned to face us, and then things got really weird. The front half of her body was also similar to that of a human, with nice long legs and surprisingly large breasts. Of course the whole wings-instead-of-arms thing was a big turnoff, but not as bad as her face.

Her face was like that of a beautiful woman’s, but with a beak right where her nose and mouth should be. Somehow it seemed to fit well and look appropriate, but it was still awful to look at. It was like something out of a Cronenberg movie.

“Don’t look her in the eyes!” Zia called out. I felt her draw magic into herself.

“Can I stare at her boobs?” I asked.

“Actually, that might work,” she said. “Just don’t look her in the eyes while she sings.”

And then she started to sing.

Calling it singing was a stretch. It was a strange, melodious noise that came from her, something utterly unnatural and at the same time beautiful, like violins playing together and harmonizing with too much reverb. I felt it tug at my heart, at my brain. I focused on her rack, admiring her breasts. They were quite nice, as long as I avoided the murderous bird-woman attached to them.

“Ahh, I can feel her in my head!” one of the soldiers said.

“Fight it!” Zia shouted.

Fortunately, Taranath saved the day. He sang in a loud, clear voice:

“And here we walk through the trees

With branches scraping against our knees

Ahead of us is certain death

At least she has some great breasts.”

I laughed at the silliness of his song, and heard soldiers laugh as well. Good. “I feel like I should complain, but you’re probably keeping us alive,” I said. The harpy flapped her wings and drew closer to us. “Keep it up, Taranath.”

“Ah, let me think of something,” he said.

“Anything,” I said.

“You can’t rush genius!” he said as he tried to put something together on the spot. “Uh, um—”

“Sing!” I shouted.

“Okay, let me see,” he began.

“The harpy’s wings are oh so lush

And those legs will make you blush

She flies with such impressive grace

To make up for her wreck of a face.”

“Keep singing!” I said. The harpy’s song continued to tug at me, but Taranath’s ridiculous verses kept me from focusing on her face. Plus, you know. Tits. I noticed she was glaring at the elf. Although after a moment I realized that was just how she looked at everything.

“The sky is blue, the flower is red

This harpy woman wants me dead—”

The harpy screeched, pointedly meaning it for Taranath.

“She can’t understand him, can she?” I asked.

“I don’t think so,” Zia said. “I think she just finds him annoying.”

“Some people have no appreciation for the finer things in life,” Taranath said.

Once she was close enough, I reached out with blood magic and slowed the harpy’s heart to a crawl. Her magical song stopped almost immediately and she dropped to the ground, barely able to stand.

“I want to talk to you,” I called out.

“What?” her voice creaked, sounding incredulous. I briefly wondered what she sounded like to the others. To me, she sounded slightly nasal.

“Here we go,” I said, and stepped forward.

11

“Be careful!” Zia hissed at me as I slowly approached the harpy.

“Don’t worry, I have every intention of keeping my life,” I said over my shoulder. I kept my eyes on the harpy’s chest, not wanting to risk her magic. As I got closer though, I decided that I wanted to show her that I did not fear her magical call. I brought my gaze up to hers and firmly held it there.

“I want to talk to you,” I said again. I stopped when I was about ten feet from her.

“What are you?” she asked. She sounded both impressed at my ability to speak her language, and irritated that her magic wasn’t working on me.

I momentarily slowed her heart rate even further. “I am the man that holds your life in my hands,” I said.

She staggered to her knees, her wings sagging. “Stop!” she called out. “Please, spare my life.”

“Would you have spared mine?” I asked.

She glared at me, knowing I had made a good point.

“What can you tell me about the trolls?” I asked.

Her glare deepened and her voice picked up intensity. “Vile creatures! Foul, disgusting vermin! I wish I could tear the flesh from every one of them and watch as they suffer.”

I waited patiently while she rambled on about how much she wanted to kill every single troll herself. Jesus, this woman had a violent streak a mile wide.

“Let me be more specific,” I said. “What can you tell me about the ones that are coming here?”

“I know nothing about that,” she said. “If you say they are coming here, I believe you. They destroyed my home and many of my kin only two days gone. They destroyed everything without a care in the world, and we were powerless against them.”

“Your magic doesn’t work against trolls?”

“Not always,” she said. “Trolls are naturally resistant to magic. We tried to fight them as they burned our nests, but they ignored us.”

Resistant to magic? Great. Just fucking great. Why had I not heard that before? I guess trolls weren’t really a common sighting back home.

“And they killed the gnolls as well, right?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yes, they stomped on those pests like insects,” she said.

“Was something different about these trolls? Compared to normal, that is. Was someone with them, driving them to do all this?”

Her eyebrows drew down even further. “They wore plates of skin and metal on their bodies and heads,” she said. “Similar to some of the goblin men behind you.”

I glanced over my shoulder at the soldiers. Armor. She was referring to armor. Well, that much I had guessed on my own, but the confirmation was good.

“Was someone with them?” I asked. “A man about my size, but covered in spikes?”

Her eyes narrowed. “The thorned man, as we call him. He threw fire from his hands the way you might throw a rock. He delighted in the destruction of our home.”

“Okay, now we’re getting somewhere,” I said. “Can you tell me anything else about him?”

She shook her head. “I know very little. The thorned man showed up a few months ago, and the trolls have been a problem ever since. More aggressive, actively hunting us instead of just bothering.”

“Do you know anything else about him? Where he came from?”

She shook her head again. “No one knows anything about him, other than he appeared several months ago and the trolls have been insufferable since. He seems to enjoy the killing of others. I believe he wants to kill and conquer everything he can.”

“Sounds like a real joy,” I muttered.

“I would kill him if I got the chance,” she growled. “No one can even get close to him. The trolls guard and protect him as if he is one of their own.”

Well, at least I knew a little more about this guy, now. The thorned man. That was an interesting nickname, but it matched Orkec’s description of him wearing spiked armor.

“Where are you going now?” I asked.

“To find a new place to nest,” she said, sounding angry. “Somewhere far away from any trolls.”

“Do me a favor and stay away from goblins as well,” I said. “And elves, for that matter.”

She glared at me. “Goblins taste the best.”

I sighed and slowed her heart rate again. She squawked and collapsed to her knees.

“Okay, I yield! No goblins. No elves. Only let me leave with my life.” One of her wings reached out to me, as if pleading.

“Go,” I told her. “And go in peace. I’m giving you your life, so remember that if you come across any goblins or elves.”

“I will,” she said, bowing her head slightly. “Thank you. I am sorry I didn’t have more information for you.”

With that, I let her heart rate rise a bit. Not enough for her to attack me, but enough for her to walk away. I stood there with a tight hold on my blood magic, ready to attack if she tried anything, but she just left.

After that, I turned and went back to my group. Zia stepped forward and hugged me tightly, and Taranath looked grateful that I was still alive.

“What did she say?” Zia asked.

“Not much,” I told her. “The trolls attacked her nest a couple days ago. Their new leader was there. A guy wearing spiked armor that throws fire from his hands. So, a magic user.”

“Well, at least we know our enemy now,” Zia said.

“Yeah.” I wasn’t sure what to say to that.

“Do you think you’ll have to fight him?” Zia asked.

“Maybe,” I said. “I’m hoping after we kill his trolls, he’ll back off.”

“So, are we done?” Taranath asked.

“No,” I said. “I didn’t get much from her. Let’s keep looking.”

We fell back into our loose formation and kept walking east. Something about this new troll king was nagging at the back of my mind, but I couldn’t figure it out. Something about it just felt wrong.

Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait long before finding more tracks. This time it was Taranath that spotted them.

“Looks like a bunch of them walked through here,” he said. “Going that way.” He pointed slightly to his left.

“Alright, we follow Taranath!” I called out

It took us another ten minutes, but once again Zia was the first to see them. Her sharp eyesight really came in handy at times.

“Gnolls ahead,” she whispered.

“Alright, I’ll handle it,” I said. “Let’s quietly move closer.”

Our formation carefully moved closer to the pack of gnolls. The goblin men moved silently through the forest while I somehow managed to step on every single dry leaf and twig in existence.

“You’re really bad at moving silently,” Zia whispered to me.

I grumbled and kept moving closer. The gnolls eventually saw us and started moving towards us, barking in their strange language. Of course, I understood it perfectly.

“Goblins! Such sweet, sweet flesh,” one of them said.

“What is that tall thing with them?”

“It’s an elf, you moron.”

“No, the other one. He’s not an elf.”

“I don’t care, but I’ll bet he tastes lovely.”

“I want his legs. They look tender.”

“You’re just saying that because you want to eat his ass. You always eat the ass first, you sick fuck.”

“Will you shut the hell up!” I shouted. That stopped them dead in their tracks.

“He speaks our language?”

“What is he?”

“Why does he speak our tongue?”

“I’m here to talk to you,” I said, reaching out with blood magic. I selected the two gnolls in the front and slowed their hearts. Not enough to kill them, but enough to stagger them and get their attention.

“What’s happening?” one of them said.

“It’s him. He’s using magic on us.”

I stepped closer to them, showing that I didn’t fear them. “I need information about the trolls.”

“I fucking hate trolls,” one of them growled.

“They destroyed your settlement a few days ago, right?” I asked.

One of the gnolls took a step forward, closer to me. I assumed he was some form of leader. Gray hair flecked his bearded snout.

“What are you? Who are you? We have not attacked you.”

“I am the king of the goblins,” I said. “And before you say it, yes I know I’m not a goblin. I’m here for information about the trolls.”

“Trolls,” the lead gnoll muttered. “What do you want to know about trolls?”

“One of your fellows was injured. A man named Orkec. He is back in my city, safe and resting as he heals. He told me the trolls attacked you a few days ago, and that some of them are heading this way in two or three days.”

The lead gnoll rubbed his chin. “You have Orkec? Was he okay?”

I sighed. Getting information out of this guy was going to be tough. “Yes. He attacked several goblins and was injured. I used my magic to heal him and he is resting back in my city. We treat him well. Now, can you give me any additional information on the trolls?”

“Trolls,” he muttered again. “We hate the trolls. They’ve never been good to us, but they used to leave us alone, at least. Now they burn our home and kill our people.”

“That’s why you’re leaving, right?” I asked.

He nodded. “To find a new home. One far away from trolls, and that son of a dog that leads them.”

“The harpies call him the thorned man,” I said.

The gnoll pursed his lips. “Fitting. His armor is covered in spikes. No one knows much about him. He showed up months ago out of nowhere, maybe half a year ago. A few months later, he was king and the trolls started to get violent.” His eyes started drifting towards Zia and he licked his lips.

“Hey,” I said, snapping my fingers. “Focus.”

His eyes snapped back to me. “Trolls are lazy, but they like to destroy things. They’re resting after killing my people. If Orkec told you that some are coming for you, I believe him. If you want my advice, run while you can. These trolls wear armor of metal and hide and bone, and you can’t hurt them.”

“Is there anything else you can tell me?” I asked.

“He likes to throw fire,” the gnoll said. “Their king, that is. Trolls actually don’t like fire, but they have to deal with it now because their king likes to burn everything down.” He looked over at Taranath. “They’ll burn your trees down.”

“They can try,” I said.

“They will,” the gnoll replied.

“Well, thanks for the information. Let’s part ways in peace, okay?” I released my magical hold on the two gnolls and they gasped for breath.

The lead gnoll watched me for a moment, then turned and left without another word. The rest of the gnolls followed, and walked away into the forest. I noticed many of them had bundles wrapped in cloth, tied to their backs. Several of them glanced at us over their shoulders, but overall they looked glad to be gone.

“Was he able to tell you much?” Zia asked as I walked back to our group.

“Not really,” I said. “Trolls don’t like fire, but they have to deal with it because their new king likes to burn everything down. Oh, and they’ll probably try to burn your great trees,” I added to Taranath.

The elf gasped. “Why would they dare do such a thing? The great trees are sacred.” His brows drew down into a fierce scowl. “Well, if they try, they’ll taste our arrows.”

I clapped him on the shoulder. “That’s the kind of attitude I want to see more of.”

12

It didn’t look like we were going to get any additional information that day, so I decided to turn around and head back home.

Home. Heh, that reminded me of something I’d been putting off.

“Hey Taranath,” I asked. “What should I name the goblin city?”

“We just call it home,” Zia muttered, as if that were good enough.

“You could always name it after me,” he said with a grin. “Or perhaps my house name? Zylnelas City? Hmm, Zylnelasville. That might work. Taranathshire?”

“Still having trouble thinking of something?” Zia asked while Taranath continued rattling off horrible city names.

"Taranathfordshireville," he said. "Almost."

“Yeah, nothing is popping into my head,” I replied. “I’m usually pretty good at coming up with ideas right off the cuff—I did it at my old job for years. But I keep drawing a blank on this one.”

“Silvy City,” Taranath said.

“I think even she might hate that one,” Zia said.

“Eh, I’ll think of something,” I said. “I suppose naming the city isn’t very high on my current list of priorities.”

“So, what are your plans?” Zia asked after a few moments of silence.

I took a deep breath. “Well, General Rolf is already preparing for the attack. There isn’t really that much else we can do. They’ll have to come through the tunnel to get into the city, which is a major choke point. They won’t make it very far inside. And if they try to attack the elves, or the great trees, they’ll get peppered with arrows. Either way, I don’t see the trolls making it very far.”

“You make it sound like it’s going to be a slaughter,” Zia said.

“For the trolls, yeah,” I replied. “They’re going to learn the hard way that we intend on protecting what we love. Plus, we have so many women capable of magic, now.”

“Yeah, but trolls are naturally resistant to magic,” Zia said. “Well, to our magic at least. They aren't resistant to their own form of magic, but I think Silvy is the only person that knows that, and she only knows a tiny bit.”

“There’s always a way,” I said, pushing a low branch out of my way. “I have some ideas in my head that’ll make it a nightmare for the trolls. Taranath, how many archers do you have in Caelora?”

“How many archers?” he asked. “Hmm. Our actual military force is rather small, albeit highly skilled. Nearly all men and most women are at least proficient with a bow, though. It helps keep us safe, in the rare instance that someone tried to attack our city. Plus we use them to hunt at times. Your own wife—Leena, that is—is quite good with a bow, in fact. A sword as well, although I assume you had already guessed that much, considering who her father is.”

“I’m glad you guys planned ahead,” I said. “So, how many?”

He shrugged. “Enough that finding sufficient space for them will be the limiting factor. I wouldn’t be surprised if we had a thousand men and women with bows.”

“Perfect,” I said. “When the trolls show up, you guys can welcome them into the area. If any even survive that, we’ll kill them in the tunnel.”

“This sounds too easy,” Zia said.

“Well, it’s not that it’s too easy. It’s that the trolls are attacking two highly secure places.” I said with a smirk. “After this, I doubt any trolls will come through the area for a hundred years. That new troll king can go sulk in a corner and cry when he realizes he won’t gain a single inch over here.”

“What about him?” Zia asked. “The new troll king, that is. What have you learned about him?”

I pieced together all that I had heard so far. “He showed up around half a year ago, so roughly the time I arrived. Several months later, he became king of the trolls, and that’s when they started getting more violent. He wears a suit of spiked armor, and seems to be capable of magic, fire magic at the least.”

“Sounds like a real charming guy,” Taranath said.

“Do you think he’ll be a problem?” Zia asked.

I shook my head. “When none of his trolls return from this attack, he’ll wisen up. No king with two brain cells to rub together wants to just throw away valuable soldiers.”

We continued walking back towards the city. At one point, one of the soldiers suggested we alter our course slightly to the left, to get us on the right path. I was grateful for his sense of direction, as I had no clue where I was, other than far east.

An hour passed, and Zia picked a handful of berries from a bush as we passed it. She split them with me, which was a nice little snack on our walk.

“Do the great trees grow any fruit?” I asked. “Or nuts, or anything edible?”

“No,” Taranath said. “And they only produce a handful of seeds once every decade. The wood is strong and dense, though. Strong enough to make a city out of. It’s also hard to burn, in case the trolls decide to try that.”

“How quickly can you grow new sections of the city?” I asked.

Taranath pursed his lips. “Ehh, it’s not a fast process, even with magic. And the magic we use is gentle on the tree. We don’t force it to grow in a certain direction or in a certain shape. You can think of it as us talking to the tree with magic, and convincing it to do what we ask.”

“So, how long would it take to grow a new bridge?” I asked

He frowned. “A few months, probably. It’s a bit faster than the natural growth of the tree, but still very slow. Are you thinking of that new addition?”

“Yeah,” I said. “We’ll probably have to build the majority of the bridge with stone, and then just have the tree join with it.”

“I’m excited for that,” Zia said. “It’ll be so nice to have a direct path there, instead of all those damn stairs.”

Something occurred to me. “Hey Taranath. What if someone tried to climb the stairs? Like, an enemy.”

Taranath shrugged. “That’s a lot of stairs to climb, Aaron. If someone tried to climb up those stairs to attack us, we’d fill them with arrows before they made it halfway up.”

“Good,” I said. “With this impending attack, I guess my mind is on checking everything, even a city that’s not mine.”

“What about the exploratory team?” Zia asked.

“They’ll be fine,” I said. “They should be back well before the troll attack. And even if they stay out there too long, they’ll be several miles to the south, so the trolls won’t even see them.”

“And if the worst happens?” Zia asked.

“Well, then they have a dozen soldiers with spears accompanying them, as well as Tressi’s magic. They’ll be fine,” I assured her. “They’re probably safer than we are, and we’re as safe as can be.”

It took us nearly another hour to get back to the city. I had never been so grateful to see that hole in the side of the cliff as in that moment. Being in nature was nice, but walking three or four miles through a forest was not my preferred way to spend my time.

An elven man stood there at the mouth of the tunnel, conversing with the goblin guard. They seemed to be getting along well, which made me glad. Even though things were going great between our two nations, the goblin guards could be rather callous at times.

“Good afternoon, King Aaron,” the elven man said as he bowed his head. “Grand Duke Althidon was busy, so he sent me in his stead.”

“Uh oh. Must be official business if you’re using his full title,” I said.

The elven man shifted uncomfortably for a moment. “Well, Grand Duke is his title, Your Majesty, so—”

“I’m just messing with you. Relax. What’s going on?” I motioned for him to follow me as I entered the tunnel.

“Oh. Right.” He fell in on my left side and walked exactly one step behind me. This guy really knew his manners. “Grand Duke Althidon wanted me to inform you that their fletchers are working overtime, and every man and woman capable of wielding a bow stands ready. When the trolls arrive, they’ll have to walk through a rain of arrows.” His face paled at the mention of trolls.

“That’s great news,” I told the young messenger. “Grab something to eat before you go back home.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” he said with a bow of his head.

“See?” I said, looking down at Zia. “We’re going to be okay. The trolls probably won’t even make it to the tunnel.”

She looked relieved when I said that. Good. The last thing I wanted was my wives stressing out over this. Sure, it wasn’t going to be a fun time, but we were going to be just fine.

13

We parted ways once we got into the city, with Taranath heading to Tressi’s parents’ house, the soldiers going to their barracks, and Zia and I heading to the Royal District. Once we got there, General Rolf hurried towards us. I found it strange, seeing a general hurry. Usually they took their time and other people waited on them hand and foot. But then again, I was a king.

“Your Majesty,” he said, bowing his head. “Queen Zia.”

“What have you got for me, general?” I asked.

“Just keeping you informed,” he said as he fell into step on my left. “Our soldiers are undergoing rigorous spear drills for hours a day, until everything is perfect. We’re working on a few specific attacks in the unlikely situation that a troll makes it all the way through the tunnel.”

“Perfect,” I said. “Thanks for keeping us safe, general. I’ll be there when your men form up.”

He briefly frowned before smoothing his face. “I do hope you’ll be careful, Your Majesty.”

I could tell from his tone he didn’t want me in the fight, being the king and all. Couldn’t say I blamed him, but I was the one with blood magic.

“I have a better chance of killing the trolls than anyone else,” I told him. “I’ll be there, front and center. At least this time I’ll have armor.”

He bowed his head. “Right, Your Majesty. Good day, Your Majesty.” And with that, he hurried off to his office.

Zia reached up and held onto my arm. “Do you really think we’re going to be okay? You’re not just saying that to make me feel better?”

I smiled down at her. “We’re going to be fine. The trolls stand no chance of getting in here. Their attack probably won’t even last an hour. Then some workers will drag their bodies out into the forest while you and I relax.”

We climbed up the stairs together and I remembered to step slowly so I wouldn’t outrun my four-foot-tall wife. She clung tightly to my arm, not to hold herself up but just because she liked to hold onto me like that. I loved how it felt. Like she never wanted to let me go.

When we reached the top of the stairs a maid was in the throne room, scrubbing the floor. Of course that meant she was on her hands and knees, so I got a wonderful view of her big, round bottom.

“Nice,” Zia said.

The maid jerked her head up at hearing Zia’s voice, then hastily clambered to her feet. She bobbed a cleavage-revealing curtsey as we passed by.

“Your Majesties,” she said.

“Lovely,” Zia told her with a smile.

“It’s kind of ridiculous how I’m constantly surrounded by women in revealing clothing,” I said as we passed through the small door in the back of the throne room.

“Yes, isn’t it?” Zia said, grinning at me. “And just how does that make you feel?”

“I think you know the answer to that,” I said as I reached down and slapped her on the ass.

After a moment we ran into Silvy and Leena. From the way their heads were together, they were talking about important matters. Well, they were the responsible ones in our family, so that made sense.

“There you are,” Silvy said as we approached. She stretched up onto her toes and puckered her lips as I came close.

I bent down and kissed her. “Did you miss us?”

“I do miss you when you’re gone, you know,” she said in a tone that was just a bit too serious. “Did you learn much while you were out?”

“Nothing major,” I said. “Nothing that changes our plans, at least. Armored trolls will be here in two or three days. Their new king likes to burn things, so we expect them to try to burn the great trees down.”

Leena gasped at that. “But those are sacred! Well, we’ll just burn the trolls in that case. They hate fire, so it'll be a good payback for touching our trees.”

“Taranath tells me you’re good with a bow,” I said to her.

She gave me a flat look. “What do you expect, considering who my father is? Would you like to spar with swords sometime?”

“Good point,” I said. “Well, the elves are going to shower the trolls with arrows once they show up. If any even survive that, I’ll kill them in the tunnel. I don’t think this troll attack will last more than an hour, to be honest.”

“I’m glad you’re so confident,” Silvy said. “Oh, Tressi went with the exploratory team, so she’ll be back tomorrow or the next day.”

I nodded. “Any other news?”

“I’m going to round up some women to start on that tunnel,” Zia said. She stretched up to kiss me, gave a smile to her wives, then hurried away.

Leena slipped her hand around one of my arms, and Silvy took the other side. Together, we walked slowly down the hallway.

“The farming district is doing well,” Silvy said. “Ahead of expectations, in fact. Being underground means we can ignore the seasons, for the most part, so we can grow things year-round. The temperature stays stable, no matter what happens outside. We should have another big harvest in about a month.”

“That’s wonderful news,” I said. “I suppose there are benefits of farming underground, as long as magic is involved.”

“Told you,” Silvy said with a knowing smile.

“I sent a message to my father earlier,” Leena said. “He’s busy right now, but I should hear back from him soon. We’re going to grow stairs on the nearest great tree, but I asked him about building a new section of Caelora to the south, near this new goblin city.”

I snapped my fingers. “I’m so glad you said that. You sent him the message with magic, right?”

“Of course,” she replied. “How else would I do it?”

“Can you teach me how to do it?”

She frowned prettily. “I suppose I can try. It’s a completely different type of magic than what you use, so I’m not sure if you’ll be able to use it. Plus I think all this stone makes it even more difficult. Sometimes I have to go near the entrance for it to work.”

“Elven magic is sometimes different from what you use,” Silvy explained. “And Zia, and Tressi. It’s something unique to them.”

“Do you know any troll magic?” I asked her.

“Only a little,” she replied. “You've experienced a bit of it. I have some information on it on several scrolls so I can learn more. Why do you ask?”

“Apparently trolls are naturally resistant to magic other than their own,” I said. “I want to make sure they die quickly. If you know of any troll magic, now might be a good time to learn it.”

She nodded. “Good point. I'll study up on it tonight.”

I suddenly noticed that our walk through the halls had ended at the door to our bedchamber. I smiled at both of my wives. They were completely different; tall and short, curvy and slender, but their minds worked the same.

“Things have been stressful for you with this impending attack,” Silvy said.

“Let us take care of you,” Leena added as she pushed the door open.

Man, I had it made.

We entered the room and both of them began pulling at my clothes. Leena undid the clasp of my cloak while Silvy untied the front of my pants. Both of them wore dresses, which made undressing a fast process.

“Over here, you,” Leena said as she pulled me towards the bed by my shirt.

By the time I got there, Silvy was already naked. Leena began stripping down while I pushed my pants down to my feet and kicked them off. In a matter of seconds, the three of us were frolicking naked on the massive bed.

We were a mess of mouths and hands, just kissing, licking, and squeezing anything we could. The heat of our passion was intense and we quickly became a tangle of limbs.

Both of the women were split between wanting me and wanting each other. After a moment, Leena kissed me, her eager tongue seeking mine, while Silvy nibbled and sucked around her soft pink areolas. I had one hand behind Leena’s head, holding her face to mine, and let my other hand travel down Silvy’s back. I firmly grabbed a handful of that magnificent ass of hers, and she arched her back for me, eager for my touch.

“I love how you grab me,” Silvy said, then went back to kissing Leena’s breasts.

“Well, then he should do plenty of it, right?” Leena said, pulling away.

Giggling, Leena tossed Silvy onto her back and settled down beside her, licking and sucking on her nipple until it became puffy and erect. I moved to the other side and kissed Silvy’s soft lips, then worked my way down her jawline, her neck, her chest, and finally began sucking on her other breast.

“Oh, you two know how to please a woman,” she said breathily, her eyes closed. Her fingers tangled in each of our hair, holding us to her.

I let my left hand slide down her stomach, walking my fingers down to the soft folds between her thick thighs. Silvy immediately spread her legs, allowing me access.

Leena noticed what I was doing and joined in. She looked at me for a moment, her usual shyness gone, as she slid her hand next to mine, gently touching and rubbing Silvy’s nether regions.

“I know how you like it,” Leena said to Silvy as she gently slid a finger inside her. Silvy let out a soft moan, which increased in volume as Leena began rubbing her first two fingers in small circles directly on Silvy’s clitoris.

I watched them for a moment, drinking in their beauty and their desire for one another. Leena really fell into the role, and she seemed to enjoy fingering Silvy as much as Silvy enjoyed being penetrated.

“Come here,” Silvy said after only a short moment. Leena bent down to kiss her, but after a brief kiss Silvy gently pushed her face down. “No, I want your tongue down there.”

Leena’s face split into a broad smile and she climbed onto Silvy, lowering her pussy right onto the goblin woman’s mouth. She wiggled in place a few times, winking at me, and then bent forward so that her face was buried between Silvy’s thighs.

I could have watched them all day. It really was a thing of beauty, seeing those two women please each other.

But, I had other plans.

I shuffled down close to Leena’s head. Upon seeing me approach, she removed her mouth from Silvy’s pussy and eagerly reached out for me. The moment I came near her she took my erection into her mouth, sucking as if her life depended on it.

“My god, I love how you do that,” I said, just closing my eyes and leaning my head back for a moment. Leena absolutely loved oral sex, both giving and receiving. I smiled at how she sucked firmly on the end, then took my full length a few times. One of her hands gently caressed my balls, but her main focus was on my cock.

“Here,” Leena said, pulling me towards Silvy’s pussy. “Get inside her.”

I moved between Silvy’s thighs and lined myself up with her wet opening. Leena gripped me firmly and rubbed my head against Silvy’s lips, and then I pushed myself deep into hot paradise.

Leena’s hands wrapped around me, holding my waist and pulling me deeply into Silvy with each thrust. She tried kissing my stomach a few times but soon found herself moaning in pure bliss as Silvy’s tongue worked its magic.

“That is incredible,” Leena said, nearly out of breath. Only a moment later, a tremor ran through her body and her hips were bucking against Silvy’s mouth. I smiled as Silvy’s hands suddenly clamped down on the elven woman’s ass, holding her firmly in place. Silvy was relentless, not giving Leena even a moment to catch her breath. It didn’t take long for the second orgasm to arrive.

I kept thrusting into Silvy’s tight, wet pussy, but my eyes were on Leena’s body and how Silvy was pleasing her. I found myself rapidly approaching climax right as Leena’s breath caught and her body tensed up.

I pulled myself out of Silvy’s pussy and Leena opened her mouth hungrily. I slipped my cock into her mouth and she took it all, sucking hard. Only a second later, her third orgasm hit. Her moans were muffled as I struck the back of her throat, but she didn’t let up. I smiled as Silvy’s fingers dug into Leena’s ass cheeks, holding her tightly, and blew my load right after that.

I fired rope after sticky rope across Leena’s tongue while watching Silvy’s hands squeeze the woman’s petite ass. Leena’s entire body shuddered, her moaning becoming staccato due to how hard she orgasmed. I filled her mouth up and she audibly swallowed before working her hand along my full length, sucking me dry.

I practically fell over on my side after that. Leena collapsed on me a moment later, breathing hard. Silvy was there in an instant, lying across me while kissing Leena, hoping to catch a taste of my cum.

I reached down and held onto Silvy’s hips while I caught my breath. Silvy kissed her way down Leena’s body, then came over to me. She kissed my neck, then arrived at my mouth.

“I love you, Aaron,” she said, staring at my lips.

I smiled and wrapped my arms around her, holding her tightly. Leena repositioned herself and joined in our group hug. We were just three sweaty bodies, all breathing hard. All completely content.

14

There wasn’t much left in the day after that. We were all tired, so after a light dinner we retired to the bedchamber and spent the rest of the time cuddling. I sat back against several pillows on the bed with Leena on my left and Silvy on my right, my arms around both of them. Their heads rested on my chest.

After a while, the door opened and Zia walked in. She stopped after two steps and took a deep breath.

“I know that smell. You had sex without me, didn’t you?”

We all laughed, but it was Leena that answered.

“It was a lot of fun. Aaron was so turned on he barely lasted ten minutes. We’ll have to do it again with you.”

“That sounds like a plan,” Zia said. “And certainly better than what I just spent the last couple hours doing.”

“Which was?” Silvy asked.

Zia walked over to the massive wardrobe and began tugging at her clothes, pulling them off. “Organizing men and women to start on Aaron’s new tunnel. It’s like trying to herd wild squirrels. Everyone thinks they have an idea on how to improve upon things.”

“So when are they starting?” I asked.

“Right now, actually,” she said. She squeezed her large breasts for a moment and hefted them, I assumed to take some of the strain off her back. Carrying those jugs around certainly had to be tiring. It explained why, beneath all their curves, goblin women were quite muscular. “Once I reminded them that I was queen, they stopped their petty arguments and got to work. I have a full dozen women working with stone and thirty men to carry away the rubble. It’ll still take longer than you’d like for the tunnel to be even roughly dug, but they’ll make quick progress.”

“Maybe I’ll stop by tomorrow and help out for a few minutes,” Silvy said.

“Come to bed, honey,” I said.

“Do you guys have room for me over there?” Zia said with a smirk.

“Come here,” Silvy said, reaching out for her.

Zia smiled and came over to the bed. She crawled on it and Silvy pulled her close. Zia settled down between Silvy’s legs, lying with her head on the older woman’s stomach. Silvy gently ran her fingers across Zia’s scalp while we relaxed.

“That feels wonderful,” Zia said sleepily.

The four of us were silent for a moment, just enjoying each other’s presence. Silvy continued massaging Zia’s scalp, and Leena traced her fingertip in small circles on my chest. Elven men didn’t have chest hair, she had once told me, so even though I didn’t have a ton, she found my chest hair fascinating.

“Do you really think we’ll be okay?” Leena asked after some time.

I thought about it for a moment. “Yeah. I really do. Trolls are obviously a concern; I mean, they’re huge. But we’re safe down here. And they’ll have to make it through a thousand elven archers as well. The trolls don’t stand a chance.”

Leena snuggled tightly against me. “That makes me feel better. I won’t lie, this whole thing is a bit terrifying.”

Since my arm was around her, I squeezed her tightly to me. I felt her take a deep breath.

“It’s gonna be over before you know it,” I said quietly. “I do wish we had a more precise ETA. That’s my only real complaint. But they’ll be here either the day after tomorrow or the day after that. But no matter when they come, we’ll be ready.”

“Taking their time?” Silvy asked.

“Orkec told me trolls are lazy,” I said. “That’s our gnoll prisoner, by the way. Orkec. Strange fellow.”

Silvy made a disgusted sound in her throat.

“Yeah, I know,” I said. “At the very least I think I can convince him to stop trying to eat goblins. Once all this is done I’ll set him free and hopefully he’ll go tell the others to cut it out as well.”

“Better to wish for a fish to climb a tree,” Silvy muttered.

“Huh?” I asked after a pause.

“She means that probably won’t happen,” Zia said.

“Oh. Well, either way, he gave us some good information.” I leaned down and kissed Leena on top of her head. “Let’s get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.” After that, I kissed Silvy on top of her head as well.

“None for me?” Zia asked.

“You’re all the way down there,” I said.

Zia flopped over and crawled right up me as if I were a set of stairs. A faint smile crossed her lips as she sat on my lap and shifted her hips a few times, pressing her pussy right against me. She leaned forward and puckered her lips right in front of my face.

“You had better kiss her good,” Silvy said. She reached over and slapped Zia on the ass. “She missed out on all the fun earlier.”

“That’s right,” Zia said, then puckered her lips again.

I laughed, then pulled Zia’s face to mine and kissed her. Our kiss lasted quite some time as our tongues pressed against each other. She nipped at my lips and I squeezed her large breasts.

I felt her rise up from my lap and I figured she was going to move over and lie on the bed so she could sleep. What I didn’t expect to feel was a wet mouth on my cock.

My eyes popped open and I saw Leena’s head bobbing up and down on my crotch. Zia was hovering above my lap, just enough to give Leena some room. Silvy leaned over and nibbled on one of Zia’s large breasts.

“Oh!” Zia giggled with excitement as Leena ran her tongue up her labia.

The elven woman took hold of my now-erect penis and lined it up with Zia. With a smile, Zia sank down on me taking every inch until her plump bottom was resting on my lap.

It was late, so I wasn’t surprised when Zia simply leaned forward and kissed me. She worked her hips up and down, slowly taking my full length with each stroke. My hands went right to her magnificent ass and squeezed it.

“I like the sounds you make when you’re inside her,” Leena said as she moved back so she was next to me. She leaned forwards and ran her tongue across Zia’s nipple, then pushed her way between us so she could take her turn kissing me.

“You are insatiable, you know that?” Silvy said as she pulled Zia’s face towards hers. “And I love it. Come here, you little temptress.”

Leena and I enjoyed a soft, passionate kiss while Silvy and Zia tried to suck each other’s faces off. I moved one hand up to Leena’s small breast, and the other to Silvy’s massive one and squeezed them both.

“I love seeing you inside them,” Leena said against my lips. “It’s the hottest thing ever.” She broke our kiss and watched Zia riding me while making out with Silvy. Her hand gently slid down Zia’s back until it grabbed onto her round backside, which she squeezed firmly. She smiled at the two goblin women going at it. “Uh, that is so hot. Come here, you two.”

Leena practically crawled across me, reaching for the two other women. She grabbed onto Zia and pushed her tongue inside the small woman’s mouth. Silvy was there a second later, and soon all three women were doing their best to kiss each other at the same time. Silvy stuck her long tongue out and Leena sucked on it the way she did my cock. Her hand was still squeezing Zia’s ass.

“It’s always an adventure, figuring out how we can all get in on the action,” Silvy said with a laugh. She pushed Leena back, then got up to her knees and threw a leg over my stomach.

“Hello,” I said, my hands going to her massive breasts.

She winked at me, then stood with her feet spread, one on each side of me. With her short height, that put her pussy directly in front of my face, so I reached out and grabbed her by the ass and pulled her to me. I ran my tongue up her labia and began to twirl it on her clitoris.

“Oh! I should have expected that,” Silvy said as Zia leaned forward and buried her face between Silvy’s round cheeks.

As I worked my tongue back and forth along Silvy’s pussy, Zia worked her magic on the goblin woman’s ass. For a moment, our tongues met between Silvy’s thighs and we shared a brief kiss before returning to pleasuring her.

“By the gods, that is amazing,” Silvy said, running her fingers through my hair. She reached back and held onto Zia’s hair for a moment, pressing both of our mouths against her body.

“Oh, no fair! I wanted to get my ass eaten, too,” Leena said.

“Come here, my love,” Silvy said.

On her knees, Leena shuffled close to me so she could kiss her wife. She took Silvy’s face in her hands and the two women kissed just as deeply as ever.

I could feel Silvy’s breathing quicken, so I knew she was almost there. I planted my lips around her clitoris and rubbed my tongue firmly back and forth across it. Her legs twitched a few times and I knew she was almost there.

Leena grabbed one of Silvy’s massive breasts and gave it a squeeze, bringing a soft moan from her. She pinched her nipple, bringing a sharper noise.

“Oh,” Silvy said breathily. “I’m—I’m gonna—”

I was suddenly holding on for dear life, both of my hands clutching her ass while her body quivered against my tongue. Zia’s hands were there also, and she didn’t let up for one second. Both of us kept licking and lapping at her while Leena leaned down and sucked on Silvy’s large nipples. The woman barely finished her first orgasm before launching into a second one.

“Let me taste her,” Leena said, bending down to kiss me. She ran her tongue up my chin and across my lips, savoring her wife’s flavor.

Silvy practically fell over after that. She laid on the bed, breathing hard, her arms out to each side.

Leena licked my face one more time, then pushed her tongue inside my mouth. She held my face tightly while she kissed me—she always did that. After a moment she leaned back, then grabbed Zia by the back of her neck and pushed her face towards me.

Zia smiled and threw her arms around me. I held the petite woman close as I kissed her. Her hips moved up and down, much faster now that our attention was solely focused on each other.

Leena stayed close by our side, reaching out and toying with Zia’s nipples and stroking the woman’s arm as she rode me. She moved her other hand back to Zia’s bottom and grabbed onto it, helping her ride me good and fast.

I moved my hands up to Zia’s waist and got a good grip on her, which Leena immediately recognized as a sign I was close.

Zia’s face was buried against mine, her tongue fully in my mouth. Leena’s hands suddenly pushed between us and she grabbed onto both of Zia’s nipples and pinched them firmly.

Zia let out a faint whimper and rode me even harder. Leena’s tongue was suddenly there, pressing on my lips, pushing between us. We let her in and tried another three-way kiss. It didn’t really work but it was a lot of fun, and in the moment incredibly fucking hot.

“I want to taste both of you,” Leena said, then pushed her tongue into my mouth as if she were doing exactly that. She pulled her tongue back and smiled at me.

“What do you mean?” Zia asked, out of breath.

“Aaron, cum in her pussy,” Leena said as she reached out and grabbed onto Zia’s breasts again.

“But—Ohhhh,” Zia’s protests were cut off as Leena pinched her nipples again.

“Don’t worry, my love,” Leena whispered into her ear. “I’ll take care of everything.”

Leena moved her hand down and grabbed onto Zia’s ass, giving it a firm slap, then slid her hand up the small woman’s back and grabbed her firmly by the back of her neck. Zia immediately turned submissive, going almost limp in my arms. She looked up at Leena, eager to make her happy.

Leena leaned over to me, that long tongue of hers already out. We kissed for a moment, then she pulled away and went back to Zia. She brought her other hand up to Zia’s throat, albeit gently.

“Open your mouth, love,” she said.

Zia opened her mouth, her eyes wide. Leena leaned forwards and let a wet drop of saliva, half mine and half hers, drop into Zia’s mouth. After that, she pulled the goblin woman’s face to hers and kissed her.

I had never seen Leena act that way. Since we got married, she had always been the shy one. Sure enough, after kissing Zia for a moment, she turned to me.

“Put her on her back,” she said.

I leaned forwards, taking Zia with me. The small woman laid back, pulling her thighs wide. My cock momentarily slipped out and Leena was there in an instant, sucking hard on it, almost enough to make me blow in that moment. She ran her tongue up Zia’s wet slit, then looked up at me. I pushed myself into Zia’s hot pussy right as Leena kissed me again. Zia was on her lips. I loved how she tasted.

I couldn’t last any longer. My body tensed up and I unloaded inside of Zia. That was the first time I had ever came in her pussy—she always had me finish in her ass instead.

But this time I pumped a huge load deep inside her, thrusting hard and fast.

“Yes, yes!” Leena said. “Give it to her good, honey.” Her hands caressed Zia’s stomach, then grabbed my waist, helping me thrust into her.

As soon as I was done, I practically collapsed back on the bed. Leena was there in a heartbeat, sucking me, licking up both my cum and Zia’s juices. She went at it almost methodically, licking me clean.

I laid there, breathing hard, while Leena moved onto her back. She took hold of Zia and moved her around. Cum was still dripping from her pussy and Leena leaned forwards and licked it up. Zia straddled Leena’s face, gently holding her hair with both hands, while Leena sucked my cum out of her pussy.

It was definitely the wildest thing I had seen in a long time.

Leena held Zia there until she had licked all the cum from her and given Zia two orgasms.

Soon after, the four of us were all lying in a tangle on the bed.

“Where did that come from?” I asked Leena.

“I’m not sure,” she said, a hint of her usual shyness creeping back in. “You know I love swallowing your cum. I’ll do it any time, anywhere, and seeing you with them, I wanted Silvy and I wanted Zia….” She smiled at both of the other women. “I guess I got a little carried away.”

“Please feel free to get carried away any time you want,” Zia said, still breathing hard.

“I second that,” Silvy said.

Leena crawled up to me and pecked me on the cheek, then cuddled tightly against me. Her fingers traced on my stomach.

“I love you, Aaron,” she said.

“I love you too, honey,” I said, smiling down at her.

15

We all slept in a bit the next morning, as we were understandably exhausted. In fact, when I finally woke, I felt no desire at all to get out of bed, even with the troll attack coming. Good sex will do that to you.

Leena hadn’t moved all night—she said that was how elves slept—and was still cuddled on my left side. Silvy yawned and stretched her arms overhead. She winked at me when she saw me staring at her massive breasts.

“Do we have to get out of bed?” Zia asked, crawling over to me. She flopped onto me, laying her head on my stomach and holding onto me tightly.

“Unfortunately, we do,” I said. “We have a battle to prepare for.”

Silvy looked down at Zia and smiled. She ran her fingertips up the younger woman’s thigh, bringing a giggle from Zia.

“I refuse,” Zia said. She reached one of her small hands up and grabbed onto my shaft. “I’m not leaving this bed.”

“Are you seeing my father today?” Leena asked me. She reached down and ran her fingers through Zia’s hair.

“Yeah,” I said. “Even with the attack, we have training scheduled for today. Plus, I need to check with him and see how preparations are going. Oh, hey,” I said as Zia suddenly took my cock into her mouth and began aggressively sucking it.

“I told you, I’m not ready to get out of bed yet,” Zia said, then went back to sucking.

Leena smiled down at her, then looked up at me, her eyes clear like a summer sky. She smiled and I leaned down to kiss her soft lips.

“Not a bad way to start the day,” Leena said, softly kissing me again. Her smile took on a seductive note, then she bent down to join Zia. “Move over, you,” she said.

“I’m going to make us some hot tea,” Silvy said. She leaned over and kissed me, then walked across the room.

My eyes stayed glued to her incredible ass the whole time and I blew my load in Leena’s mouth. As soon as I did that, Zia practically tackled her and the two kissed over a mouthful of my cum. It was, indeed, a hell of a way to start the day.

“You really know how to make life worth living,” I said.

“Who did you mean that for?” Leena asked as she held Zia tightly.

“All of you,” I said. With a grunt, I swung my legs over the side of the bed just as Silvy returned with a cup of tea for me. “Thanks, honey,” I said.

She bent over and kissed my forehead, then walked back across the room to fetch tea for everyone else.

“Ah, what a day,” I said, running my fingers through my hair.

“Your day hasn’t even started yet,” Silvy said as she returned with more tea.

“Eh. You’re right,” I said. The tea was amazing, as always. That was something Silvy was excellent at. In a world without coffee, I had come to love our morning tea.

War waits for no one though, so I quickly downed my tea, then went to my wardrobe and grabbed a robe and a thick towel.

“I’m heading to the hot springs,” I told my wives.

Leena and Zia were in a tangle on the bed. Silvy sat on the edge, smiling at them.

“We’ll be down there soon,” Silvy said.

I pushed the door open and hurried out into the hallway. The cold stone floors on my bare feet definitely brought me fully awake, since my tea hadn’t kicked in. Alena, my personal servant, curtseyed as I walked by. Of course, her dress was cut low enough in the front that I got a wonderful view of her ample breasts. Having seen me, she would meet me at the springs in a few minutes with my clothes already picked out. She was good about that. She was about as good a personal servant as one could ask for.

Being relatively early in the morning, the city was still quiet. For that I was grateful, as I got tired of people saluting and bowing to me all the time. It was a relatively peaceful walk across the Royal District and down the long, sloping tunnel. Not the level of peace I got with the shadow stone, but it was manageable.

Not many people were in the hot springs yet. I stepped up to the one marked off for royal use only and dropped my robe, then stepped into the hot water.

As king, I didn’t get many opportunities to relax. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. But there was always something to be done. To be fair, now was not a good time to relax; the trolls were coming, after all. But sometimes I reminded myself to take a deep breath, to take five minutes and just breathe. It helped keep my stress levels low.

I leaned back in that pool of hot spring water, letting the back of my head rest against the edge while my body floated a few inches beneath the surface, absorbing the warmth. I needed to wash myself, but I spent a few minutes just relaxing first.

“Oh, wow,” a woman’s voice said from behind me. Wait, I recognized that….

I turned and saw Alena standing there with my neatly folded clothes and boots in her arms. I followed her eyes and realized she was staring at my dick. Well, it was clearly visible, the way I was lying in the water.

“Sorry,” she said, looking away.

“Ah, it’s fine,” I said, letting my legs sink. I stood up and turned to her. “You can just set my stuff right there. Thanks, by the way.”

She nodded, not quite meeting my eyes. I could tell she wanted to say something. Her face darkened, the way green skin did when they blushed.

“What is it?” I asked.

“It’s really big,” she blurted out. She covered her mouth with both hands. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”

I looked down in the water at my perfectly average penis. Well, if they were comparing me to guys that were barely five feet tall, I guess I was pretty well-endowed. I didn’t want her to feel embarrassed so I just smiled at her, then turned and leaned my elbows on the edge of the pool so she couldn’t see anything beneath my chest.

“Thanks,” I said.

“Zia told me about it,” she said. “You had better believe if she lets me, I’m going to have my turn.” She blushed again for being so forward, but everyone knew I preferred for people to talk to me like I was just a regular guy, not a king. Sometimes that led to people speaking their minds a bit more than they usually would, as this was a perfect example of.

“Okay, so what clothes did you grab for me?” I asked, changing the subject. Not that I wouldn’t enjoy my time with Alena; she was as beautiful as the rest of the goblin women, with breasts even larger than Zia’s and pouty lips. Her eyes were the darkest blue I had ever seen, and her hair was black with just a hint of blue to match. But I was a married man.

“Your wives wanted to make sure you looked every inch the king today,” she said. The color left her cheeks now that we had changed the subject. “Dark pants, your green vest from the elves—I always liked you in that one, Your Majesty—white shirt, and your dark gray cloak. No jacket because you’ll be practicing the sword with Grand Duke Althidon.”

I nodded. “Thank you, Alena. I appreciate all the work you put in. You really make life easier for me.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” she said, bending over to set my clothes down. Her massive breasts nearly fell out of her low neckline. She noticed me looking and gave me a look that made her intentions clear, no matter our social status.

She held my gaze for a moment, then stood up and gave a perfect curtsey and left. The back of her dress clung to her rear end in a way I had come to enjoy. I chuckled to myself and returned my focus to the water and cleaning myself off.

It was a strange feeling, having so many women wanting me. And not just my four wives, but it seemed like half the female population wanted to bang me. Well, I guess I couldn’t blame them. Bang a king, become a queen, right? They were used to goblin kings taking many wives and having a bunch of kids. Seeing as I only had four, I was apparently lagging behind.

I didn’t think I could keep up with so many women, though. And I didn’t mean just sexually; group sex every night was certainly a lot of fun, but also staying in tune with so many different personalities, attending to their wants and needs, their fears, their desires. It was a lot.

Still, as I watched Alena’s butt move in her dress and marveled at the sheer roundness of it, a part of me wondered what it would be like to take twice as many wives and just have my fun. I could have two dozen beautiful women in my life and it would be completely normal in this world.

Once I was clean I climbed out of the pool of hot water and dried myself off with the towel. After that I grabbed my clothes and got dressed. I noticed a particular scent on my clothes and found a handful of flower petals folded up within my shirt. I didn’t know if that had been Alena’s idea or one of my wives, but either way it made me smile. It was nice to feel appreciated and loved.

Leaving my towel and robe there made me feel a bit like a lazy bastard, but Alena would get it later. Just part of being king.

Now fully dressed, I made my way back up the tunnel and through the Royal District. More people were up and about, so I had to deal with the usual salutes and bows and curtseys, but eventually I was back in the royal palace, enjoying a wonderful breakfast with my wives.

I was quiet as we ate, just looking at them and appreciating them. I really had it made with these four beauties in my life. I couldn’t ask for anything more. A serving woman set a second plate of food in front of me, leaning over so that it was impossible to miss her large breasts. I bit back a laugh.

Life was good. Life was great.

16

After breakfast, I spent a few minutes kissing and hugging my wives. I was grateful none of them were the jealous type. That would have made this whole arrangement pretty awkward.

“I miss Tressi,” Zia said, frowning prettily.

“She should be back today, right?” I asked. “Hopefully the exploratory team will have good news.”

Zia nodded. “I can’t imagine they’ll have anything other than good news. And they’ll be back before the trolls get here, unless something comes up.”

It was my turn to frown at that. The trolls would be here tomorrow or the next day, depending on how fast they were moving. I knew we would be fine, but I also knew it would be a stressful event. But, worrying never solved anything. I smoothed my face.

“Alright, I’m going to get going,” I said. I bent down and kissed Zia on top of the head. “I love you all.”

“Love you, Aaron,” Leena said.

“See you soon,” Silvy said with a smile.

Walking with a sword belted around my waist was an interesting thing. First off, it took some getting used to. I generally had to walk with my left hand on the hilt so the damn scabbard wouldn’t bang against my leg. I couldn’t lie though; coming from a guy that used to type up boring financial reports for a living…I liked how it looked.

My journey through the halls of the royal palace was interesting that morning. All of the maids and servants seemed to be positioning themselves to show off their breasts or asses, even more than usual. Zia must have said something to them. I found that whole situation strange, but I couldn’t complain as it was pretty fucking awesome.

As soon as I stepped into the throne room, I slipped the shadow stone into my mouth. That made my walk through the Royal District much faster. The rest of the city as well.

When I got to the Tunnel District, I saw the beginnings of the new tunnel, the one that would eventually connect with Caelora. It started on the path that led to Silvy’s old house, roughly thirty feet to the left of the main entrance as I was facing it.

At that moment it was just roughly cut, but a veritable army of goblin workers wheeled carts back and forth, removing rock from the area. Several women sat on a nearby bench, resting, while others were inside the tunnel, moving the rock around like clay. It was fascinating to watch them work, but I didn’t have the time to stick around.

I hurried down the tunnel, avoiding all the men with stone-filled carts. Fortunately it was busy enough that no one noticed the shimmer in the air passing by them.

Once I exited the tunnel, I hurried to the treeline. The goblin workers were piling the loose stone about a hundred feet north of the main entrance, so I assumed that was where the bridge would be. That made sense, as there was a great tree nearby.

After a moment I removed the shadow stone from my mouth and just walked along that familiar path to Caelora. It was a peaceful morning, the weather pleasant, birds singing, squirrels barking. While I loved all the people that filled my days, I enjoyed the time I got to spend alone.

I briefly wondered what I would be doing back on Earth if things hadn’t ended. My old job wasn’t a bad one, and my boss had been a decent guy, but I knew I didn’t have much of a future there. Definitely not a retirement I could have lived on. I hated to think that it was a good thing that the entire planet died, but I certainly made out like a king. Heh, get it?

When I came to the tree I preferred to use, I took a deep breath and began slowly climbing the stairs. The elves, as slender as they were, found it strange that I got tired climbing those damn stairs, as if walking up a hundred feet didn’t bother them at all. Even Leena teased me about it at times, but I had to remember she had spent decades going up and down the stairs, whereas I had only spent months. Plus, I outweighed her by probably eighty pounds. I was lifting a lot more weight.

“Oh, it’s King Aaron!” an older elven woman said as I crested the top of the stairs. She gave me a polite curtsey; not as deep as she would give to her own king, of course, but perfectly respectful.

“Good morning, King Aaron,” said another woman as she walked by. She gave me a sweet smile, but didn’t stop.

And that was how the elves treated me. They respected me, sometimes they would give a brief bow or curtsey, but they didn’t take it any further than that. Honestly, I liked it. But, I had to remind myself, I wasn’t their king. Even the elves bowed and scraped for their own king.

“Here for more training with the sword, King Aaron?” a man asked as I walked by.

“Yep, just hoping I can one day beat Althidon,” I replied with a grin. The man laughed and kept walking. No one could beat Althidon. Well, Ralcor could, but he was dead.

“Honeycake, King Aaron?” a motherly woman asked as I passed in front of her house. She held several of the pastries on a wooden platter. Faint wisps of steam still rose from them, showing they were fresh from the oven.

“Well, it would certainly be rude of me to refuse,” I said, stopping for a moment. I grabbed one and took a bite.

Her honeycakes were fairly croissant-like, but of course, with honey. I assumed someone went down onto the ground to collect wild honey from time to time, although it wouldn’t surprise me if they simply had beekeepers in the trees. There were enough flowers up here, after all.

“Make sure you eat plenty and keep your strength up for when the trolls arrive,” she said. The sweet tone of her voice was at odds with her words. “Of course, I don’t think any of them will even make it to your city. They have to make it past our archers first, and with my husband and my two sons among them, you can sure bet every arrow will find its mark.” Pride filled her voice as she mentioned her family.

“Thank you, ma’am,” I said. “And I agree. I don’t think the trolls will make it past you guys, but if they do they’ll find a hard time in the mountain.”

“You stay safe, now,” she said.

I gave her a polite nod. “Ma’am.”

After that I kept walking while eating the pastry. The elves enjoyed their pastries, although they tended to keep the flavors light. Bits of fruit, sometimes flowers petals or honey. They were a people that appreciated subtleties in all things, and I liked that.

I finished the honeycake right as I walked up to Althidon. He was leaning against the railing, watching young soldiers spar. For all his lofty station, he preferred training soldiers to anything else.

“Good morning, Aaron,” he said to me. It was rare he used my official title, and that was fine with me. After all, I was only alive because of Althidon. “I see you passed by Mara’s house.”

I licked the last bits of honeycake from my fingertips. “Mara?”

Althidon nodded. “She makes those things nearly every morning and hands them out to people, especially passing children. She’s a national treasure, I tell you.”

“I guess I passed by at just the right time,” I said, dusting my hands off. “Are you ready?”

“I’m always ready,” he said with a grin. He stepped over to the weapons rack and grabbed two practice swords, then tossed one to me, point-down.

I caught it by the hilt and spun it upright, then held it in both hands. To warm up my wrists and arms I gave it a few swipes in each direction, then rolled my shoulders around a bit.

“So, are you guys ready for the attack?” Althidon said, raising his sword. That was the only warning I got.

“As ready as we can be,” I replied. I brought my sword up just in time, barely deflecting a blow that would have left me with a wicked bruise on my chest had it landed. “Although honestly I don’t think the trolls will make it past your archers.”

“That’s the plan,” Althidon said. He moved to the side, his steps slow and deliberate. “Starting tonight we’re going to have several dozen men waiting at the tops of the trees, keeping an eye out. In the event that the trolls come early, we’ll be ready.”

“Do you think they’ll come early?” I asked and dropped into a lunge.

Althidon casually stepped aside and my wooden blade found nothing but air. His sword was suddenly at the side of my neck. I hadn’t even seen him move the damn thing. Bastard moved like lightning.

“Not bad, just be faster,” he said. “And make sure to keep your guard up.”

“Oh, King Aaron! We can’t have you getting bruised, now,” An elderly elven woman said as she hurried towards me, leather vest in hand. “And you as well, Sword-Master.”

“Thanks,” I said, taking the vest from her. I leaned my sword against the wooden railing and pulled my cloak off, then set it on the floor. After that, I slipped my arms through the vest and began lacing up the side. She helped me.

Althidon frowned at his vest for a moment, but finally decided to put it on as well. I raised an eyebrow at him.

“You’re getting faster,” he said. “One of these days you’ll land a hit on me, and I’d rather not feel it. You’re a pretty strong guy, after all.”

I smiled at the compliment. He had a point, too; while Althidon was no weakling, I had a heavier build than his elven frame, especially after Silvy had improved my body what seemed like so long ago. A steady diet of food from Chef Gorman, regular practice with the sword, and of course those damn stairs on every tree and I had put on a few extra pounds of muscle. I didn't have a scale here of course, but I was still pretty lean and was probably pushing two hundred pounds.

Althidon grabbed his sword and waited for me to be ready. “What are your plans if they make it into the tunnel?”

“Pretty straightforward,” I said as I raised my sword. “They’ll have to crawl through the tunnel, which will make them slow and vulnerable. I have men training with extra-long spears as we speak. Any trolls trying to crawl through the tunnel will get impaled by a dozen of my soldiers. Of course, what I’ll probably try first is to just stop their hearts with magic, but I’ve been told trolls are naturally resistant to magic.”

“Hmm, good point,” Althidon said. He swiped left and I was barely able to parry it in time. “We don’t see trolls very often so I guess they aren’t a regular topic of conversation. But yes, they are resistant to some magic. No one has quite figured out exactly what, though. They hate fire, that much we know. Other forms, they practically ignore.”

“I was told they can be affected by their own magic,” I said.

“Who told you that?”

“A gnoll,” I replied. “Or a harpy. One or both, I forget.”

Althidon lowered his sword. “You spoke with a gnoll and a harpy?”

“Yeah,” I said and swung for his head. He casually raised his sword and deflected my attack as if I had all the time in the world. “Remember, Silvy used magic on me when I first arrived here, so I can speak any language.”

“That’s true,” Althidon. “You don’t have any accent at all; you sound like you grew up speaking the elven language. I suppose with that I had forgotten it was magical in nature. I guess you’ll be able to speak to the trolls as well, once I get here.”

“I’ll make sure I tell them to fuck off,” I said with a chuckle. “Or if I’m smart, I’ll try to take one of them prisoner and ask them about this new king of theirs.”

Althidon grunted. “Good luck capturing one of them. Bastards are about as strong as can be.”

He had a solid point. I didn’t think we had any chains lying around in my city that would safely hold them. I’d have to have someone make some with magic, although I didn’t know if there was even enough time to do that. Perhaps if we just wrapped chains around a troll from shoulder to wrist, that would be enough to hold them.

“What is this about a new king?” Althidon asked.

“I’ve only heard a little,” I said and lashed out with two quick swings. Althidon parried them without hesitation, but gave a slight nod of praise. “From what I understand, he arrived around the same time I did, became king three months ago, and he’s roughly my size. Oh, and he wears a suit of spiked armor and likes to burn things. He can use fire magic; I’m not sure about any other types.”

“Sounds like a real charming fellow,” Althidon said. “You should try sparring with your wife sometime. I think you might be surprised.”

“I don’t think I’d be surprised at all,” I said. Being the daughter of the Sword-Master, she could kick most men’s asses with a sword.

We sparred for another thirty minutes before Althidon ran me through several drills. He said I was picking up a bad habit with my footwork, so we went over that as well. It was tiring, but I felt good afterwards, like I had gone for a brisk jog.

“Now we just need to figure out a better way to communicate with each other,” I said. “Oh, that reminds me. Can you teach me the way you use magic to send messages to people?”

17

Well, luck wasn’t always on my side.

As it turned out, I wasn’t able to use the elven method of sending messages on the wind. It required a special type of magic that only elves tended to have. So, my talents with magic basically revolved around killing and healing. I had to rely on others for anything else.

“Can you send messages to Leena?” I asked.

“Usually,” Althidon said. “I can’t explain exactly how it works; the elders probably could. But her being underground makes it difficult at times. Couldn’t say why.”

“Bad signal, maybe?” I said.

“Huh?”

“Nothing. I was hoping we could use that to keep in touch when the trolls come,” I said. “Looks like that isn’t an option.”

“Is there any alternate path up here, in case you need to get a message to me or anyone else?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Nope. Leena said she has to go to the mouth of the tunnel sometimes to send you a message. That won’t be an option once the trolls get here. Although I guess when they’re in your neck of the woods, she could wait at the end of the tunnel in case you need to communicate, then flee back into the city if the trolls get near.”

Althidon pressed his lips in a tight line. “I don’t like the thought of my girl risking her life for anything. But it seems that’s the only way.” He gave me a firm look. “Just make sure when the trolls come anywhere near, she gets out of sight. She’s a stubborn one and will want to stay until the last minute.”

I nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep her safe. You have my word.” I grounded the tip of my sword and leaned on it for a moment. “Hey, I imagine you guys are fine up here, but is there any way I can help you prepare?”

“No, we’re good,” Althidon said. “Our fletchers are working day and night, as are our bowyers. We have enough for a thousand archers. The trolls won’t stand a chance.”

“I don’t want to be overconfident, but I really feel like the trolls are walking into a slaughter,” I said.

Althidon harrumphed. “That’s because you haven’t seen how tough they are, boy. The trolls aren’t going to make it, that’s a fact. It’s still going to be a nasty fight, though. I would prepare for the worst, if I were you. Better to be ready for anything than to get caught underprepared.”

“Good point,” I said. I offered him my hand. “Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll get going.”

Althidon shook my hand firmly. “I’ll stay in touch. Stay safe down there.”

“Don’t worry, I plan on it,” I said with a grin.

After removing my padded leather vest, I grabbed my things and left. I took my time leaving Caelora, as I enjoyed how pleasant the elves were. I even stopped by to say hi to Elasha, the grumpy seamstress. She was slightly less grumpy these days.

It concerned me a bit that I felt so at ease when trolls would be attacking in the next day or two. I figured it was just confidence in our defenses.

I mean, sure, they were ten feet tall with thick skin and apparently armor. But they were walking into a death trap.

“Heading back home, King Aaron?” a elven man asked as I strolled by. I noticed he held a longbow and had a full quiver peeking above one shoulder

“Yeah, gotta prepare,” I said, giving him a friendly smile. “Stay safe. Maybe save some trolls for us.”

“Ha!” he laughed. “Me and my best friend have a wager on how long it’ll last. He says two hours. I say less than one.”

“Gods be good, it’ll be over soon,” I said. We shook hands and parted ways.

As I walked across Caelora, I remembered how quickly things could go wrong. We had laid thorough plans to overthrow Ralcor, and they all fell to pieces a day early when he kidnapped my wives.

With that in mind, I vowed to take this attack seriously and treat it as if the trolls were indestructible.

When I reached the top of the stairs, I paused for a moment to look down. The hundred-foot-drop was a deadly fall, for sure. I could only think that gravity would help the arrows, though. With the elves firing nearly straight down, the trolls would get absolutely pummeled.

I wasn’t the best judge of distance, but the next great tree was probably seventy or eighty feet away. At the midpoint between the two, the trolls might have a slightly easier time passing through.

Nah, they wouldn’t. There would be a thousand elven archers waiting for them. They were fucked.

Several men holding armfuls of bows arrived and began arranging them on hastily constructed weapons racks.

I hurried down the stairs, feeling almost eager for the fight. I was halfway tempted to go back and see Althidon for some more sparring, but I knew we both had more important things to do.

When I reached the ground, I set out at a fast walk. I needed to invent cars or something. This half-hour walk in each direction was getting old. Well, if my miners found enough iron ore, we could smelt it into steel and make a railroad system one day. That would be a huge improvement. Maybe we could get the orcs in on it.

By this time my wives had taught me enough about the local foliage that I was able to pick a few things and snack on them as I walked. I tried to tell myself that I wasn’t stress eating.

As I approached the tunnel, I noticed the pile of loose stone had grown considerably. Whatever Zia had said to motivate them, they were certainly working hard. As I passed by, two men with a wooden cart unloaded fist-size chunks of stone onto the ground. The pile of rocks was already the size of a van. At this point, they’d have enough stone to start on the foundation soon.

When I got to the mouth of the tunnel, I noticed that the amount of posted guards had greatly increased. Four guards now stood there instead of a lone soldier, and I had suspicions that more were inside.

“Your Majesty,” they said as I came closer.

“Everyone ready?” I asked.

They all seemed confident. “I’m looking forward to my turn in the tunnel,” said the soldier closest to me. “We’ll be working in shifts. I just hope I’m there when those frog-skinned bastards show up.” I noticed they still had their customary iron-banded clubs on, not spears.

“I’ve heard a rumor that you’re going to be fighting with us, King Aaron,” another soldier said. That got their attention.

I nodded. “I will. I’m the only person around that knows blood magic, so it’s important that I’m here for the fight. Trolls are naturally resistant to magic, but I’m hoping that if I can’t kill one, I can at least slow it enough that you guys can finish it off.”

That earned nods of approval.

“We’ll save you a spear, Your Majesty,” a soldier said, grinning.

I clapped the nearest man on the shoulder. “I’m looking forward to it. Remember, I may look different, but you’re all my people. I plan on fighting right beside you all.”

They saluted me again and I entered the tunnel. Sure enough, thirty feet inside I found a man arranging a dozen spears along the bottom edge of the tunnel. When needed, any soldier could grab one in a heartbeat. Upon seeing me, the man bowed, and then hurried away.

I expected to see more spears waiting in the tunnel, but I didn’t. Those were probably spares, or extras. I thought about an armored troll pushing his way into the tunnel and couldn’t see any way that spears wouldn’t get broken. I did, however, see more workers pushing carts filled with stone, as well as some interesting-looking holes in the floor.

When I got to the end of the tunnel, I found two large benches with more than a dozen soldiers around them. When they saw me they hastily saluted and greeted me.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Just preparing for the attack, Your Majesty,” one of them said as he hurried to stand before me. Two chevrons on his sleeve marked him as some form of leader; a corporal, I thought. “Starting tomorrow, we’re going to start rotating men through here, ensuring we always have enough soldiers ready.”

“Is someone going to bring you guys food and water?” I asked.

He nodded. “Food, water, and we’ll have some blankets and cots nearby so we can get some sleep as well. We’ll have shifts here overnight, just in case.”

“Good thinking,” I said. “If the elves leave us anything, we’ll be ready. You boys stay safe.”

They saluted me and I turned to my right and approached the beginnings of the new tunnel. Considerable progress had been made in the few hours I had been sparring, but they still had a long way to go. I kept my distance so I wouldn’t interrupt their work with my presence. Some of them noticed me watching and offered curtseys and bows. I gave them some words of encouragement, then left the Tunnel District.

The hot springs were full; I supposed with the impending battle, people wanted to be clean in case they didn’t get the opportunity to bathe for a while. That meant plenty of beautiful women.

“Hi King Aaron!” A gorgeous woman with midnight blue hair said, waving in a manner that made her large breasts sway back and forth. Her friends in the same pool pushed themselves up so they could bow their heads slightly out of respect, and of course so I could see more of their bodies. The smoldering looks in their eyes told me exactly what they wanted.

I replied with a smile and wave and tried not to laugh. The way these women flirted with me was a bit over the top. I certainly wasn’t complaining, but sometimes it almost didn’t feel real. If I wanted to, I could probably have a hundred wives and completely change the genetic makeup of the goblin people. The inner workings of my mind, my lizard brain, would leap at the opportunity to do that. I was happy with my wives, though.

“Ah, jeeze,” I muttered to myself as a beautiful young goblin woman accidentally dropped her towel as she got out of one of the pools. She turned and bent over, giving me a clear view of her goods. I was going to have to start using the shadow stone just to make it through the hot springs at this rate.

I hurried away from there so I could focus. The guards waiting at the entrance to the tunnel to the Royal District saluted me. I could tell they were excited.

“Are you guys gonna get in on the fun?” I asked.

“Nah, we’re stuck here,” one of them said. “The only way we’ll see any action is on the off chance one of those things makes it through the tunnel.” He barked a laugh. “Which means we aren’t going to see any action.”

“Better for all of us that way,” I said. “If you really want, ask your superiors if you can get sent to train with Althidon, the elven Sword-Master.”

He raised his eyebrows. “You mean that, Your Majesty?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I mean, you guys guard the entrance to the Royal District, so you should be the best-trained soldiers I have. Tell your superior officer I recommended it.”

“Oh, thank you, King Aaron,” he said. Both of the men were excited after that.

I left after that and hurried up the tunnel. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to get into for the rest of the day, but I was thinking lunch sounded like a good first step.

18

Alena was there as soon as I walked through the throne room and entered the palace.

“Good afternoon, King Aaron,” she said, curtseying so low that I was amazed her huge breasts didn’t fall out.

I really tried not to stare, but those things were even larger than Zia’s, and she was particularly blessed in that area. Before Alena straightened up from her curtsey, I managed to look away so she didn't catch me gawking at her.

“Good afternoon, Alena,” I said.

“Do you need anything, Your Majesty?” she asked, smiling as she took a step closer to me. She managed to put the faintest emphasis on the word “anything,” so little that it could have been my imagination. The look in her eyes as she smiled up at me told me she had meant it though.

“Just here for lunch,” I said.

“Well, if you need something to eat, I’d be glad to help you,” she said, turning around. Of course the first thing I noticed was her ass. Hard to miss that thing with the way she cocked her hip. She looked at me over her shoulder. “I’ll meet you in the dining room, Your Majesty.”

Man, this was getting to be too much. I shook the sight of her figure from my head and tried to focus as I walked to the dining room.

Although, perhaps letting it stress me out was the wrong way to go about things. Yes, I loved my wives. Yes, I was dedicated to them. However, I was king of a society that expected me to have many, many wives. And at least one of my wives, Zia, encouraged the maids to flirt with me. I think she had a bit of a voyeur streak, although she had previously admitted that she liked it when I got all hot and bothered seeing other women. She got to finish me off.

I pushed the door to the dining room open right as Silvy was seating herself. She saw me enter and gave me a warm smile.

“Hey, honey,” I said. I walked over to her and kissed the top of her head, then hugged her tightly.

“Come here,” she said, puckering her lips. Once I had properly kissed her, she let me go.

I sat down and reached out, taking her hand in mind. I so loved that woman; she had been with me from my first day in this world. She was the entire reason I had made it this far. I owed her everything.

“Deep thoughts?” she asked.

“Yeah, just a bit.” I told her. “I love you so much. Don’t ever forget that.”

She smiled. “What brought that on?”

“Ah, you know. Deep thoughts.”

The door opened a moment later and Leena walked in. She wore a thin dress of pale green silk, cut in a style that Zia would love. It highlighted her slender figure and soft curves as well as the way she moved.

“Hey, Aaron.” She walked over to sit next to Silvy. The two women briefly kissed, then she sat down.

“How are you two doing with the attack coming tomorrow?” I asked.

Silvy shrugged. “We’re fine. You’ve assured us that the trolls face an impossible battle, after all.”

“Even my father says that no one could make it through that tunnel,” Leena said. “He spoke about it shortly after you became king. That was the one thing he had been concerned about; not Ralcor, not anything else. The tunnel.”

I avoided telling her that Ralcor had actually been a better swordsman than Althidon, and would have killed him if Truk hadn't been able to intercede. I would take that secret with me to the grave.

“I just want to make sure you’re both okay,” I said, turning to look as the door opened.

“Oh, wow,” Leena said.

Zia walked in wearing the most revealing dress I had seen on her yet. The front was essentially just two strips of cloth; they passed over her shoulders, then went down to cover her nipples before joining at the waist. I assumed the back was completely bare. The thin cloth was snug over her hips, then flowed down to make walking easier.

“I don’t think it would be possible for you to show more skin without walking around completely naked,” Silvy said.

“I’m sure I could find a way,” Zia said. She gave me a devilish grin, then walked up to me and kissed me. “How’s my king doing?” She straightened up, which put her breasts roughly at eye level.

I laughed. “I’m great. Absolutely great.”

Zia laughed as well, and grabbed my head in both hands so she could briefly smother my face with her massive breasts. After that, she went to her seat and sat down on my left side.

“I’ve seen more boobs today than I can count,” I said.

“Is that a bad thing?” Leena asked. She popped a grape into her mouth—a gift from the elves—and pointedly looked over at Silvy’s breasts and smiled. Silvy dressed much more modestly than Zia, but it was impossible to hide those things.

“Oh, behave,” Silvy said, but she smiled back at her wife.

“I guess I’m just not used to it,” I said. “This world is very different from mine.”

“You’re king, Aaron,” Zia said. “You have proven yourself as the strongest, so you are our leader. You are expected to take many wives and father many children. Why do you think the royal palace has so many bedrooms?”

“Good point,” I said.

“To be honest, I’m a bit surprised you stopped at just us four,” Zia continued. “Some kings in our history had as many as a hundred wives.”

“I wouldn’t even know what to do with that many women,” I said. Sure, it was a fun fantasy, but the reality of pleasing a hundred women was a bit ridiculous. Hell, even remembering their names would get difficult at that point.

“I can give you a few pointers,” Zia said with a wink.

The door opened and Alena came in with a platter of food. She had a bounce in her step, probably just to make her massive breasts move.

“What about Alena?” Zia asked, eyeing the woman up and down. “She’s certainly pretty enough.”

“Thank you, my queen,” Alena said, bobbing a quick curtsey before setting the platter of food in front of me. One of her huge breasts rested on my arm as she did so. I left my arm there; I didn’t want to move it and call attention to it. Zia saw it though, and grinned at me.

“Come on, Aaron. You know you enjoyed that,” Zia said.

“Well, this is an awkward conversation,” I muttered. I wasn’t sure where to look or what to say.

Alena quickly straightened up and looked slightly shocked. “Did I do something wrong, Your Majesty?” She looked around to my wives.

“Nonsense, you’re just fine,” Zia said. “Stand there for a moment, Alena. No, face Aaron. Yes, like that. A little closer. Nope, a little closer. There you go.”

Alena stood right next to me, practically touching my chair. Her massive tits were right there in my face. It was impossible to miss them.

“Aren’t they beautiful?” Zia asked.

I looked over at her cantaloupe-sized breasts. “Yeah. Can’t lie, those are pretty amazing.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Alena said quietly, blushing. Bits of flirtation in the halls was one thing, but being put on the spot like this clearly embarrassed her. Well, it was awkward. She shimmied her shoulders slightly.

“Well, I like them,” Leena said, matter-of-factly.

Silvy sighed, and then nodded slowly. “I do enjoy the dynamics of our small, tight-knit family. But you are expected to marry the most beautiful women among us. You are the strongest, so you’re expected to have the most children.” She shrugged. “That is what has driven our evolution for thousands of years. It makes us all stronger as a people. And yes, she is quite beautiful.”

I sighed and looked back over at Alena’s massive breasts. They were quite possibly the most beautiful things I’d ever seen, and the rest of her was amazing as well. But it just felt strange. I suppose twenty-something years of living on Earth did that. I almost laughed at the thought of having four or five wives on Earth. I’d be called a pervert in no time. Hell, I’d probably get my own TV show so people could see how weird I was.

But here, it was normal. At least for a king.

“Oh, King Aaron!” Alena said as I reached out and firmly grabbed both of her breasts.

Considering how they were barely contained in the front of her dress, they both fell out pretty much the moment I touched them. Well, that just made things easier. I gave them a squeeze, then kissed each of her large pink nipples.

“You are indeed beautiful, Alena. But I need something to eat.” Hopefully that wouldn’t hurt her feelings.

Zia pointedly looked her up and down. “I could go for something to eat as well,” she said, clearly not referring to food. That woman was insatiable.

Alena stood there for a moment as if unsure of what to do. She quickly tucked her breasts back into the front of her dress, glanced at the queens, then leaned forward and pecked me on the cheek.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“Oh, you could have done so much more than that,” Zia said, trying not to laugh.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “And to you, Alena. I’m honestly just hungry and have this battle on my mind.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” Alena said, dropping into a low curtsey. That time, I unashamedly watched her breasts.

After that, my personal maid left the room. I noticed Zia staring hungrily at her as she walked out.

“I swear, if you don’t bed that woman I’m just going to bring her with me next time I come see you,” Zia said. She laughed, but I couldn’t tell if she was joking or serious.

I wasn’t sure what to say to that so I just started eating my lunch. It looked like even as king, there was a lot I had to get used to.

Including, apparently, my wife’s desire for me to impregnate other women.

19

After lunch, I washed my face and hands and hurried away from the royal palace. If I stayed there much longer, I was half-afraid Zia was going to start having all of the most beautiful women in the area line up in front of me so she could convince me to bang them. Well, not the worst way to spend an afternoon, I suppose.

As I walked through the halls, I took a deep breath and decided to just go with it. To not let it stress me out. If I was expected to bed a hundred women, then I would do that and enjoy every second of it. My wives were still my wives, and nothing would change that.

I pushed the small door to the throne room open and passed through. An older servant was there, dusting the thrones. Like the rest of the serving women in the royal palace, she was absolutely gorgeous, even though her hair was fully gray. Granted, all goblin women were gorgeous, but I had a feeling Zia purposely selected the most beautiful women to work here.

The servant smiled at me in a very friendly manner, then turned so that her ass was facing me. She bent over like a pinup girl, dusting the throne in a position that flaunted her curves.

“Good afternoon, Your Majesty,” she said with a wink.

“Alright, that’s it,” I said, and walked straight to her.

“Do you need anything, Your Majesty?” she asked, her expression suddenly turning serious as I stepped up to her. She quickly straightened up and held her feather duster in both hands. All the servants flirted with me, and they all knew I tended to be a bit shy around them. She looked like she was concerned she had taken things too far.

“Yeah, this,” I said. I bent down and took her face in my hands, then thoroughly kissed her. I let my hands slide down the sides of her neck, then to her body, where I squeezed her large breasts. My hands continued down her sides, her hips, and finally landed on her ass, which I also squeezed. Hard.

“Oh, my goodness,” she said when I was done. She sounded a bit out of breath after that, and color stained her cheeks. “I wasn’t expecting that, Your Majesty.” From her tone, she definitely enjoyed it, though.

I bent down and pecked her on the lips, then winked at her.

After that, I walked across the throne room, towards the stairs. The servant watched me as I left, probably uncertain if I was going to do anything else. I just chuckled to myself.

At least when I left the throne room, I didn’t have to worry about that anymore. Don’t get me wrong, having beautiful women flirt with me all the time was great, but it could get distracting.

Well, I had decided that if they flirted with me, I was going to react. We’d see if that made them flirt more or less.

“Is the general in?” I asked as I entered the barracks. At least no one here would flirt with me.

“Oh, good afternoon, Your Majesty!” a young soldier said, saluting as he snapped to his feet.

“Yes, yes,” I said, returning his salute. “The general?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. He just went back to his office a few minutes ago.”

“Thanks,” I said.

Before I had to deal with walking through the busy halls, I grabbed the shadow stone from my pocket and slipped it in my mouth. I felt a bit cheesy for doing that, but I didn’t feel like returning a hundred salutes and greetings over a fifty-foot hallway. The shadow stone let me walk to the general’s office door unseen.

“Ah!” a young soldier shouted as I suddenly popped into existence right next to him.

“Sorry, carry on,” I said, putting the shadow stone back into my pocket.

I knocked on the general’s door, and pushed it open when I heard him shout “enter!”

“Good afternoon, general,” I said as I walked into his office. It dawned on me that as king, I could just walk in without waiting for his permission, but I wanted to be polite. After all, my behavior would influence everyone else’s.

“Your Majesty,” he said, standing and saluting me.

“How are preparations going?” I asked. A chair was in front of his desk, so I sat in it and motioned for him to sit as well.

“All is well, Your Majesty,” he said as he sat back down. He shuffled through a few papers on his desk. “We expect the elves to slaughter the trolls, but I went ahead and put two hundred men on standby. They’ve been training all day with long spears, and they’re ready.”

“Two hundred?” I asked. “Not all at once, right?”

“No sir,” he said, shaking his head. “They’ll be working in shifts of a quarter-day each, so they’re always fresh. If the trolls even make it this far, I expect them to die before making it twenty feet into the tunnel. And that’s assuming you aren’t able to kill them with your magic.”

I nodded slowly. “Good, good. Perfect.” I looked around his office a bit, not sure of exactly what to say. “I’ll be honest, general. I’m a bit at a loss here. I’m not sure what to do.”

“Well, you can do whatever you want. You’re the king,” he said simply.

I laughed. “No, I mean I have great leaders working for me. You, Kord, my queens. I feel like I should be busier each day, but the lot of you make things easy for me. At this point, I’m just waiting on the attack as well. Do you have any scouts out there?”

He nodded. “I have my fastest men patrolling the forest in pairs. As soon as they see something, they’ll bring word of it.”

I frowned. That was somewhere we could improve upon things. “No horses?” I asked.

General Rolf shook his head. “Oh no, no. Not down here. Horses need too much space, they eat too much food, and they never stop shitting. Our city would be a mess if we kept any horses down here. Seriously, it would just be one pile of shit after another. Horses are disgusting. Plus they're assholes, and they'll kick you if they don't like you.”

“That would make the scouts a lot faster, though,” I said.

He pursed his lips. “Yes, I see your point. We’ll have to figure something out, especially with this new city.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” I said. “Once we establish the second city, we’ll need someone to command the forces there. I’ll need you to find the right person.”

He nodded sharply. “I already have someone in mind, Your Majesty.”

“Excellent. Well, I suppose I’ll meet up with your soldiers tomorrow morning.” I stood and shook his hand. “Thanks for all your hard work, general.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” he said.

I left his office and put the shadow stone back into my mouth. My earlier comment had been spot-on; between him, Kord, and my wives, I had it easy. Hell, Silvy could run this entire place by herself while making it look easy.

I decided to leave the shadow stone in my mouth as I left the building. The Royal District was plenty busy that afternoon, with soldiers and workers swarming like ants. Soldiers trained in the distance for the attack. On the logistics side of things, other men ensured those soldiers always had fresh food and clean water, as well as somewhere to relieve themselves. Workers produced extra weapons in the event that the spears broke.

There were a lot of gears in this machine, but they all turned smoothly. It definitely went a long way toward making me feel better about the upcoming attack. I was halfway tempted to just walk to the hot springs and check out the babes, but I decided against it. Instead, I decided to go back to the tunnel.

With the shadow stone in my mouth, I slipped through the Royal District unnoticed. When I got to the hot springs I definitely spent a few minutes looking around. It was hard not to, considering how beautiful the women were. I reminded myself that not only could I have any of those women I wanted, but they were eager for it. Plus, my wives were pushing me in that direction. Well, when all this was done, maybe I’d make everyone happy by fathering an entire generation.

Smiling to myself, I left the hot springs. When I got to the Tunnel District, I removed the shadow stone from my mouth.

“Good afternoon,” I said, saluting the group of soldiers as I approached them. They all snapped to their feet, but I made a dismissive gesture with my hand. “No, no, go about your business. I’m just making sure everyone is okay and ready.”

“Yes sir,” the corporal said. “We’re ready for anything, Your Majesty.”

I noticed that a weapons rack had been erected against the stone wall, so I went over there to check it out. The spears leaning against the rack were long, probably ten feet or so. I grabbed one and examined the spear point.

I was no expert on weapons, not by a long shot, but these were clearly nasty weapons. The spear point itself was long and narrow, probably a foot long and only about two inches wide at its broadest point, the kind meant to slip between pieces of armor. At the base was a rearward-facing hook with a point sharp enough that I nearly cut my thumb on it just lightly touching it.

“In case they make it into the tunnel, Your Majesty,” the corporal said. He noticed I was checking out their spears and approached me. “The spears were designed to deal with the armored trolls. The points are thin, so we can stick them into narrow gaps in their armor. The hooks are so we can grab them and pull them off balance.”

“Nasty stuff,” I said as I returned the spear to its rack. “I think they had something like that back in my world. A glaive or something. I can’t remember the exact name.”

After that I took my time walking down the tunnel. Workers pushing carts filled with loose stone passed by me. They seemed to be making excellent progress. Zia would be pleased, and so would Kord.

The guards at the mouth of the tunnel saluted me, but I waved them away. “You’re fine, I’m just checking things out. Go about your business,” I told them.

I walked out of the tunnel and stood at the treeline, perhaps thirty feet away. I found it interesting that it could be so tranquil, so peaceful, when giant monsters were coming to kill us all. After a minute I sat down with my back to a tree. I stayed there for probably an hour, just letting my mind be at ease.

It was voices that snapped my head around. And not just the soldiers talking about how excited they were, but different voices. Specifically, women’s voices, and I thought I recognized one of them.

“Tressi?” I said, looking back towards the mouth of the tunnel.

Sure enough, the exploratory team was returning. A dozen armed men stood there, greeting the soldiers at the entrance to the tunnel, and among them were three women, one of them Tressi.

With a smile, I stood and walked over to them. Of course they all stopped what they were doing and bowed, curtseyed, and saluted. I was really starting to get sick of that.

“Aaron!” Tressi said, and ran over to me. She threw her arms around my waist and hugged me tightly. “We have great news!”

20

Istood there for a moment, holding her tightly. She had only been gone about a day and a half, but I had missed her.

“Let’s go inside so you can clean up and change,” I said. “Then, you can tell me everything.”

She wrapped her slender fingers around my arm and we walked down the tunnel, happy to be together again. Tressi smiled up at me every few seconds, practically bouncing on her toes with excitement.

“That’s an awful lot of workers carrying away loose stone,” she said as two men passed by us, pushing a cart filled with stone.

“Yeah, it’s for the new tunnel,” I said.

“The one that will connect with the elven city? Wonderful. I’ll have to stop by and help if I can.” She beamed another smile up at me.

“Okay, go ahead and tell me,” I said. “I can see you’re eager.”

“So, the next suitable mountain is about two miles south of here,” she began, speaking excitedly. “There are some between, but their structure is all wrong. There are massive cracks and splits in the stone, which would make them unstable. But we found one that’s perfect.”

“That’s great!”

“Not only that, but once we dug a few feet into the rock with magic and started delving through it, we found all types of things. A little bit of silver, some gemstones, and a lot of iron. Even a bit of gold!”

“Oh, that’s exciting,” I said. “Maybe we can all have new crowns made.” My current one was made from steel. Not the most pleasant thing to wear, nor was it particularly impressive. I actually hated wearing the thing and avoided it at all costs.

Tressi nodded in agreement. “The amount of iron in the mountain shocked me at first. All three of us checked, just to make sure we weren’t mistaken. There is so much iron in that mountain that we’ll have trouble figuring out how to use it all.”

“Oh, I have a few ideas,” I said. “The orcs make the best steel from what I’m told, so maybe we can form some agreement where we send the iron to them and they return us good quality steel. They can keep some as payment.”

“That’s a good idea,” she said, looking at me with pride in her eyes. “King Aaron, making friends with everyone. Any news on the trolls?”

“Nothing good,” I said. “I’m thinking they’ll be here late tomorrow. I’ve been told trolls are lazy, so I can’t see them rushing to get here. They’ll probably rest for the night, then show up.”

“How prepared are the elves?”

I chuckled. “It’s doubtful the trolls will even get near us. I’ll put it that way.”

Tressi nodded. “Well, that’s exactly what I like to hear. It’s good to know that we’ll be safe. How are my wives? I miss Zia.”

“She misses you too,” I said. “Otherwise, they’re doing well.”

“There’s something in the way you said that,” she said, looking up at me. “What’s going on?”

I was going to tell her it’s nothing, but this was Tressi. I couldn’t keep anything from her. Besides, she’d find out soon enough on her own.

“Zia has all the maids and servants flirting with me. She even had their dresses altered to show more cleavage.”

Tressi laughed. “Oh, that’s just like her. She’s always enjoyed watching other people be intimate. I’ll bet she likes it when you get all hot and bothered.”

“Yeah, she’s said as much. Things are starting to get ridiculous, though. I think she wants me to bed Alena.”

“Oh, that’s your personal servant, right? She’s a pretty one.”

I looked over at Tressi. “That doesn’t bother you?”

“Why would it?” she asked. “You’re the king. You’re supposed to take many wives and have many children.”

“Yeah, that’s what they said,” I replied. “I guess it just feels strange because things were different back on my world. Most people were strictly monogamous there.”

“Did your kings take multiple wives?”

I shook my head. “We had a president, not a king. And he only had one wife. None of our leaders took multiple wives. Some of them cheated, but marrying several women at once wasn’t even legal in my country. I think most places outlawed that.”

“By the gods, why?” Tressi asked.

“I think some guys abused that,” I replied. “Religious cults and stuff. Old men would convince teenage girls they were the savior of mankind, and then once the girls became legal adults, marry a bunch of them.”

Tressi frowned. “Well, that’s certainly not the situation I was expecting. So powerful men really didn’t take many wives back on your world? Strange.”

“That sort of thing was generally looked upon in a very negative manner,” I said. “Hence my hesitation to impregnate the entire royal staff, like Zia seems to want me to.”

Tressi laughed at that. “Oh, Aaron. You are a strange creature at times. An absolute delight, but strange. If you don’t want to father a hundred children, I won’t push you to. Just as long as you know what the people expect of you.”

“Well, maybe I’m just changing things a bit,” I said. “Four wives is enough for me.” I reached over and patted her hand, which still gripped my arm. “Especially when they’re as pretty as you.”

“Flattery will get you far, Aaron,” Tressi said with a smile.

We exited the tunnel and stepped into the Tunnel District. As expected, the group of soldiers waiting there all stood and saluted us. Our eyes were on the new tunnel, though.

“They started that after I left?” Tressi asked as she took a few steps closer.

“Yep,” I said. “Zia put together a pretty big team for it. I think there’s about a dozen women, with three times that many men hauling away the stone.”

Some of the women resting on a bench nearby stood when Tressi walked up to them. She hurriedly gestured for them to remain sitting.

“No, please rest,” she insisted. “Your progress is incredible.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” one of the women said with a slight bow of her head. “We’re working in shifts, day and night. Queen Zia said she has a surprise for whoever moves the most stone.” The woman looked at me and smiled. She was a pretty thing, with big eyes and black, shoulder-length hair.

“Is that so?” Tressi asked. Her eyes were still focused on the tunnel. “I’ll stop by tomorrow and help out how I can.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” another worker said.

Tressi rejoined me and held onto my arm again. Together we left the workers, walked past the guards, and went through the tunnel that led to the hot springs. As usual, plenty of people were bathing there at that moment. Tressi pulled me to a stop and gestured at a woman bathing in a nearby pool.

Her hair had traces of violet in it, something I hadn’t seen before. She was a bit more muscular than most other women, but still covered with soft curves. We watched her for a few seconds as she ran her hands over her full breasts and down her arms, cleaning the sweat of the day from her body.

“Do you mean that you don’t want to be with her?” Tressi asked.

I shrugged. “I guess I just haven’t really thought about it that in-depth. I mean, she’s absolutely beautiful, and I’m sure she’s a lot of fun in bed. But the truth is, I’m happy with you four. To be honest, I’d be happy with just one of you, any one of you.”

Tressi laughed. “Oh, you’re silly, Aaron.”

“I’m serious.”

She looked up at me. “What do you mean? Like a commoner?”

“Sure. I mean you’re all wonderful. Sure, other women are beautiful, but I love you, and you make me happy.”

Tressi’s serious expression turned to a smile. “You keep talking like that and I’ll never let you go.” She squeezed my arm for emphasis.

I reached down and placed my hand on top of hers. “Good. I’m keeping you forever.”

“Promise?” she asked.

“Of course. Besides, I already have four beautiful wives. I don’t want to get greedy. Come on, let’s go.”

Tressi looked across the hot springs. “There certainly are a lot of beautiful women there. If you ever have some extra energy, let us know. Consider it part of your duties as king. We’ll pick out an especially pretty woman for you.”

I laughed. “I think Zia already has.”

“Who?”

“Alena, my servant.”

Tressi smiled. “As I said, she is quite pretty.”

“Yeah, but she works for me. I don’t want to abuse my power by taking advantage of one of my subordinates. It just feels…wrong.”

“I’m glad you’re a morally sound man,” Tressi said. “That makes me feel at ease when I wonder what direction you’re taking our people. But as I said, think of this as part of your kingly duties.”

After that, we walked away from the pools filled with bathing beauties and crossed the cave. Silvy didn’t like it when I referred to the districts as “caves,” but that’s what they were. Giant caves, connected by tunnels.

“Your Majesties,” the royal guards said as we entered the tunnel that led to the Royal District. They saluted, fist to chest and I returned the gesture.

“Kord will be pleased with what we found,” Tressi said.

“Do you need to go report to him?” Although the moment the words came out of my mouth I realized it was ridiculous, the thought of a queen reporting to anyone. Except to a king, I suppose.

“No, you silly man. Cinda is. She wrote down everything we found in great detail—a habit she picked up from you, I believe—and she’ll be seeing Kord soon. Probably right now, actually. He’s not the most patient man. She’ll fill him in on everything we found.”

“I kind of like that about him,” I said. “He gets stuff done quickly. And he works for me, so I don’t really have to worry about him pestering me. Well, usually.”

“Did anything else happen while I was gone?”

“I don’t think so,” I said. “Leena’s wild side is coming out a bit more.”

Tressi smiled. “I love that woman. She is something else. Never thought I’d share a man with an elven woman.”

“Not just a man, but a king,” I reminded her.

“How could I forget?”

“I try to sometimes.”

We both laughed.

21

When we got back to the royal palace, it was an evening of reunions. Even though Tressi had been gone only a short time, everyone was glad to see her. Zia hugged her so tightly I thought she was going to squeeze a fart out of her.

“I wasn’t even gone two days, you guys,” Tressi said, smiling at them.

“It’s been an eventful time, I suppose,” Zia told her. The two women held hands, with Zia refusing to let go. “And the trolls should be here tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow or the next day,” I said. “We’ll see. I have scouts in the woods right now, keeping an eye out for them. I imagine the elves are doing something similar.”

“I’ll have to stay near the entrance when things start, so I can send messages to my father,” Leena said.

I frowned. “Your father mentioned that specifically. He wants you to be careful.”

“Of course I’ll be careful,” she said. “But I want to be able to communicate with not just my father, but the rest of the elves during the attack. It’s important that I stay near the mouth of the tunnel.”

“Okay, but if any of the trolls get close you have to fall back,” I told her. “Silvy?”

“I’ll keep her safe, don’t worry,” Silvy said. She slipped her hand in Leena’s and gave her loving smile. “I’ll drag her by her pointy ears if I have to.”

“Hey,” Leena said. “Your ears are longer and pointier than mine.”

Silvy shrugged. “Good thing you’re not pulling me from battle, then.”

“Are you going to be close to the battle?” Leena put her hands on her hips.

“Well, of course. I’m the only person around that knows troll magic.”

Leena grinned. “Then I’ll be dragging you by your ears if you don’t stay safe.”

“Well, I’ll drag all of you away if I think you’re in danger,” I said.

“What makes you think you can stop the four of us?” Leena asked, crossing her arms.

“I know blood magic,” I told her. I reached out with magic and drained the blood from both of her ears.

“Ah!” Leena shouted, rubbing her ears. “Stop that, it tingles.”

I let the blood return to her ears. “All jokes aside, I know we have to protect our people, but we can’t get careless. I don’t think the trolls will be much of a problem for us; the elves will handle the majority of the battle. But if any of them do make it here, I don’t want any of you too close to them.”

“Have you ever seen a troll before?” Silvy asked.

“Yes, once,” I said. “Months ago, when I was new here, I came across one in the woods. Only the shadow stone kept me alive. He almost got me just based on smell alone.”

I led everyone towards the dining room. It was a much better place to talk than a hallway, and it was getting to be that time anyways. We pushed open the door and took our seats; me at the head, Silvy and Leena on one side, Zia and Tressi on the other.

“And we’re ready for the attack?” Tressi asked.

“As ready as can be,” I said. “Relax, we’re going to be just fine.”

At that moment, the door opened and a man walked in. He was old, even by goblin standards, but still walked with a spring in his step. His wrinkled face was partially covered by a close-cropped gray beard, but his eyes were sharp as they took us in. The white chef’s hat on his head was pristine, without a single stain or mark on it. Not easy in a world without washing machines.

“Chef Gorman,” I said as he approached me. “Good to see you. What do you have for us today?”

“Oh, something special. Something special indeed.” His broad smile took us all in. “I’m excited to share this with you all. I believe I have perfected this dish.” He winked at me, and I tried not to laugh.

A week ago, I had described beef wellington to him. Of course the ingredients were different here—we used venison instead of beef, and wild boar bacon, but at least the mushrooms and coarse mustard were there. The elves supplied the pastry dough. He was excited to cook it and spent the entire week trying variations on it.

“We’re ready when you are,” I said. I was genuinely excited to try his version of the famous dish.

“It’ll be done soon!” he said, his voice filled with excitement. He hurried away, leaving through the small servant’s door that led directly to the kitchen.

At that moment, two serving women entered the room, each carrying a pitcher of wine in their hands. One of them was my own personal servant, Alena. They filled silver goblets for each of us. Of course Alena filled mine first, and just as she did last time, she leaned over me to reach my goblet. Her massive breasts brushed against my arm.

“Alena, right?” Tressi asked, watching the young woman.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” she said, bobbing a quick curtsey.

Tressi looked her up and down in a way that would have gotten me slapped back on Earth. She then turned to me.

“Oh Aaron, she is gorgeous!”

Alena blushed. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“I told you,” Zia said. She reached across the table and grabbed a berry from a small bowl, then popped it into her mouth with a grin.

“Alena, if it makes you feel any better, this is just as awkward for me,” I told the beautiful woman.

“Oh, this isn’t awkward for me, Your Majesty,” she said, although she still blushed. “Honestly, I’m flattered. I would love it if you chose me, even for just one night. I would be honored.”

I leaned back in my chair and tried not to laugh. This whole situation felt like a setup for some stupid reality TV show, where they put me in a situation, waited for me to react, and then came out with cameras so everyone could call me a perv. Except, this was real life, and all of these women genuinely wanted me.

Tressi was watching me with a peculiar expression. “Kingly duties,” she said, raising an eyebrow.

Fortunately, at that moment the food was ready. Chef Gorman himself came into the room with a platter in hand. He frowned at Alena as he passed.

“Hurry up and get the food before it gets cold,” he said in a firm voice.

Alena and the other servant hurried away.

Chef Gorman set the platter before me and removed the lid. I was immediately smacked in the face with some of the most delicious aromas I had ever experienced. His version of beef wellington sat in the center of my plate, surrounded by brightly colored vegetables and something that looked like a risotto.

“Oh wow, that smells amazing,” Silvy said, staring at my plate.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Chef Gorman replied to her.

A moment later the door opened and more food came in. Soon everyone had a dish in front of them, and we were all eager to try it.

Since I was king, I had to go first. I grabbed my fork and knife and sliced a piece off, then stuffed it into my mouth.

It was an explosion of flavors that nearly knocked me on my ass. The slight gaminess of the venison was tempered by the mushrooms and coarse mustard. The wild boar bacon had a strong flavor, and the juices from it had soaked into the pastry that surrounded the whole thing. In short, it was one of the best things I’d ever had, Earth food included. This was holy shit-levels of cooking.

“Well?” Chef Gorman asked, his voice eager. He practically hovered next to me.

“This is amazing,” I told him. “I’m truly impressed. Feel free to make this any time you want.”

He clapped his hands. “Excellent! I am so glad you like it, Your Majesty.”

“Oh my goodness,” Silvy said after a bite. “Chef Gorman, this is incredible.” She didn’t say anything after that as she was busy digging in for more.

“What is this?” Tressi muttered after a bite. She stared at her dish in amazement. “Where do you even think of this stuff?”

“He’s just an amazing chef,” I said, winking at Gorman.

“You are too kind, Your Majesty,” he said. He bowed his way out of the room with a broad smile plastered on his face.

We all remained at the table for a bit once we finished our dinner, just sipping on wine and relaxing. Although we all knew we were going to be fine, it was still a stressful time.

“These wines are different,” Tressi said, staring into her goblet.

“What do you mean?” Zia asked.

“Different types,” she said. “Not just red and white, but different types of red and different types of white. I suppose that makes perfect sense, but I’ve never really thought about it before. Tonight’s wine went very well with our food.”

“Would you like some more, Your Majesty?” Alena asked.

Tressi nearly leaped out of her seat. No one had heard Alena approach. She placed a hand over her chest and took a deep breath to calm herself.

“I’m sorry if I scared you, Your Majesty,” Alena said.

“You might need a spanking,” Zia said, winking at my maid.

“Oh, I want in on that,” Leena said. Next to her, Silvy just rolled her eyes.

“You ladies are insufferable,” I said, although I felt like laughing. To be fair, Alena was ridiculously gorgeous, and kind as well. I could do a lot worse than that huge-breasted beauty. I turned to her. “Look, we’ll talk about this after the battle, okay?”

She broke into a smile. “Oh, thank you, Your Majesty.” She rushed up and planted a kiss on my cheek, then immediately blushed again. “I’m sorry if that was inappropriate of me.”

“You’re fine,” I said.

“He does look thirsty though, Alena,” Tressi said. She stared me dead in the eyes, as if daring me to stop her. “I think you should help him drink his wine.”

“Oh boy,” I said.

With a big smile, Alena reached out and took my goblet, then brought it up to my mouth. Before I could drink any, Tressi spoke up again.

“No, you’ll probably spill it that way. Aaron, can you slide your chair back a bit please, honey?”

“Oh boy,” I said again, but I pushed my chair back a few inches.

“Have I ever told you how much I love you, Tressi?” Zia asked. She was smiling so big I expected her to break out into laughter at any moment.

“You should, and more often,” Tressi said. “Alena, I want to make sure you’re good and stable. Try sitting on his lap. Or, on one leg, so you’re facing to the side. That should make it easier.” She still held my gaze.

“I suppose it’s pointless to resist,” I said.

“That’s right,” Tressi said. "Glad you realized that."

Alena blushed but hoisted her skirts up past her knees and climbed onto her lap. I nearly groaned at the feeling of her ass on me as she moved around, finally settling on my right leg. She picked up my goblet of wine and leaned close to me, very close indeed.

“Here you go, Your Majesty,” she said, her face only a few inches from mine.

“That’s much better,” Tressi said. “Go ahead, Aaron.”

I felt so awkward, but I leaned forward and had a sip of wine. Alena smiled at me.

“Oh, I think he spilled a drop,” Tressi said. “Right there, from his lip.” I nearly rolled my eyes.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get it,” Alena said. And she leaned forward and licked my bottom lip. She fucking licked me.

I laughed. I didn’t think they’d be satisfied until I tore her clothes off and impregnated her right in front of them. “You all are too much. Okay, fine. Come here, Alena.”

I took her face in my hands and kissed her as deeply and thoroughly as I would have with any of my wives. I took my time with it, too, and let my hands roam across her body, especially her massive breasts. They practically fell out of the front of her dress and I had a blast squeezing them.

“As I said, we’ll talk about this after the battle,” I said. I pecked her on the lips and helped her stuff her breasts back into her dress.

“Alena,” Tressi said.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” she asked as she slid off my lap. I think after that episode she was unsure of how to act around us.

Tressi used that tone that she reserved for handing out orders. Her queen voice, if you will. “From now on you are to give King Aaron his wine in that manner. I don’t ever want to see him holding his own goblet of wine. Unless, I suppose, he’s walking or far away from the palace. Oh, and that counts for his morning tea as well.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Alena said. She flashed a smile at me.

“No fair, I want to give him wine like that,” Leena said.

“You can do that for me,” Silvy told her.

Zia looked over at Tressi and raised an eyebrow. “What about me?” she asked.

Both of their eyes went to Alena.

“I think you’re going to be busy for the next few years,” I told Alena.

22

Later that evening the five of us found ourselves in bed, but things weren’t as usual. Oh sure, we were naked, but we weren’t having sex. With the attack so close, we just wanted to feel each other’s bodies close. Sometimes just being next to someone you loved was more important. Or, in this case, four someones.

“I’m heading down to the tunnel right after breakfast,” I said to no one in particular. “I’ll be waiting there with the soldiers for the trolls to arrive.”

“I’ll go with you,” Leena said. She traced a finger down my arm. “I want to be able to send messages to my father.”

“I have to go as well,” Silvy said. She was cuddled with Leena, lying with her back against the taller woman’s chest. “I’m the only one that knows troll magic, so I’ll go in case I need to use it.”

“So you learned some?” I asked.

“Kind of,” she replied. “Troll magic is difficult. I’ve been able to figure some out, but not much. You've experienced a bit yourself, when I made you able to understand languages. Hopefully what I know is enough, if things come to that.”

“Well, I’m sure we can handle things, working together,” I said. “Although I have some ideas if things get rough. There’s a saying, more than one way to skin a cat. I always hated that saying, though, as I like cats.”

“That’s a horrible saying,” Tressi said. She was snuggled against my right side with her head resting on my chest. “I’ve never even seen a cat, but you’ve described them to me. I can’t imagine hurting one.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of a shitty saying,” I said. “I don’t think the saying has any actual basis in harming cats, it’s just a poor choice of words.”

“There’s more than one way to dig up a radish,” Zia said. “Much better, and no animals harmed. Although to be honest, I don’t care for radishes that much.”

I laughed and squeezed Tressi against me. “Hey honey, do you know when Kord expects to start on the new city?”

Four sets of eyes turned to face me.

“Sorry. Tressi. I guess I should specify which honey I’m referring to at times.”

“You’ll have to ask Kord,” Tressi said. “I think he wants to get started as soon as possible, though.”

“Which means as soon as this attack is done,” I said. “I’ll make sure to send some soldiers down there as well, just in case the trolls get any bright ideas, like a second attack.”

“Do you really think they’ll do that?” Leena asked.

“No,” I replied. “They’re going to lose, and lose hard. Their new king can’t be a stupid man if he took power that quickly. He wouldn’t just throw away valuable soldiers like that.”

“True, but he is brash enough to send his soldiers all the way over here,” Silvy said. “So he’s dangerous. I wouldn’t put much past a person like that.”

“He probably expects them to win,” I said, frowning. “I wonder what tricks he has up his sleeve, if he expects a dozen trolls to win against a city of elves and a city of goblins.”

“Starting to have second thoughts?” Silvy asked.

I shook my head. “No, I just want to be careful. We’ll plan for the worst. How common is magic among trolls?”

Silvy thought for a moment. “It’s fairly rare, I think. I’m not too sure, to be honest. I’ve only seen one of their shamans once.”

“Then we’ll assume one of them will be with them,” I said, suddenly smacking my lips. “Eh, I’m thirsty.” The moment the words came out of my mouth I realized what I had done. But it was too late.

Without hesitation, Tressi rolled off me and grabbed a bell from our nightstand. She rang it sharply, then flashed a mischievous smile at me before climbing back on the bed.

“I should have guessed as much,” I said. “Well, whatever happens I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.”

“I just want to make sure you have something to drink,” Tressi said with wide-eyed innocence.

A moment later the door opened and Alena walked in. She held a small pitcher in one hand and a silver goblet in the other. She walked briskly across the room and set the goblet on the nightstand, then poured it half-full of straw-colored wine.

I leaned down and kissed Tressi on top of her auburn head. “Well, at least I’ll be taken care of, right?”

“Oh, you’ll definitely be taken care of,” Tressi said.

I looked over and saw Alena pulling on the laces of her dress. Once they were loose she pulled her arms out, then pushed the dress down over her hips. Fully nude, she took the goblet in one hand and crawled onto the bed with us.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty,” she said, crawling over Zia. Zia reached out and slapped her on the ass, bringing a sharp giggle from Alena.

I watched the beautiful young woman crawl over my wives, then straddle my legs. “Maybe I should be thirsty more often,” I said.

“Maybe you should,” Tressi said. “Kingly duties, after all.”

Alena shuffled forwards, her massive breasts swaying each time she moved. She straddled my hips and sat down. My dick was resting against my lower stomach and her pussy was right on top of it. I could feel her warmth and wetness, plain as day, and immediately began to become erect.

“Here you are, my king,” Alena said, leaning forward. Her huge breasts rested on my chest—probably on purpose—and she held the goblet to my lips.

There was really no reason to fight it. I was just used to different standards, Earth standards, that was all. I reminded myself that I had four wives, and each of them expected me to impregnate as many women as possible. After all, one of their kings in the past had a hundred wives.

“I think you spilled some,” I said, smiling at Alena.

“You definitely spilled some!” Leena said. She sounded like she was cheering on her favorite sports team.

“Here, I’ll hold that,” Zia said. She crawled practically on top of Tressi and took the goblet from Alena, then set it on the nightstand. She watched us excitedly. Actually, everyone watched us excitedly.

Alena blushed to her hairline at the sudden pressure, but finally leaned closer.

She closed her eyes and I took her face in my hands, then kissed her. Alena was a gentle kisser, her soft tongue barely pushing into my mouth. My hands slid down from her face to her huge breasts. Playing with those things was pure joy.

Alena began working her hips back and forth, her wet pussy coating my cock and making it slick. One of her hands came up to my cheek and she held our faces together as my hands went to her hips.

“Nope, you still spilled a bit,” Leena said. “That’s going to take a lot to clean up.” Next to her, Silvy laughed.

Alena broke our kiss and looked to her left and right, checking the reactions of my wives. It was clear they were all excited for her. Her timid expression turned to one of devious desire and she raised her hips off me. She reached between her legs and grabbed onto my fully engorged shaft and she stopped.

“Wow,” she said, looking down. “That is really big.”

“Yeah, uh, thanks,” I said, looking down at my perfectly average penis. I reminded myself they were four feet tall. “Be careful, I guess.”

“Oh, it’s fun,” Tressi said. She reached out and gently ran a hand down Alena’s hip in a soothing fashion. “You’re going to love it.”

“Well, okay,” Alena said. She gripped me by the base and rubbed my head against her soft folds. Her wetness covered me and seconds later she was lowering herself on me, slowly impaling herself an inch at a time.

“Holy shit,” I said, then realized that probably wasn’t the sexiest thing to say.

Alena stopped with my cock halfway in her. “Is everything okay, Your Majesty?”

“Everything is great,” I said. “You’re just really beautiful.”

“She really is,” Zia said. “Let me get in here.”

“Me too,” Leena said from my other side.

Tressi laughed and slid out of the way so Zia could crawl up next to me. While Alena continued working her hips in small motions, taking more of me each time, Zia began kissing the woman’s shoulder, her arm, her neck. Leena stared hungrily at the goblin woman’s massive breasts and reached out, grabbed the one nearest to her.

Alena let out a soft moan as she sank down all the way and sat on my lap. She stayed there for a moment, her eyes closed, breathing slowly.

“Alena, have you done this before?” I asked.

She looked down at me right as Leena began sucking on her nipple. “No, Your Majes—ohhh, that is good.” She took another deep breath. “I’ve had a few girlfriends when I was younger, but I’ve never done much with a man. In fact, I—Ohhh.”

She cut off as Zia began sucking on her other nipple.

It was quite a site, the huge-breasted Alena slowly riding me while Leena and Zia sucked on her nipples. I wondered if Silvy and Tressi wanted to join in—I never wanted anyone to feel left out—but they took care of things.

“I’m just going to handle business myself,” Silvy said, shuffling across the bed. She laid next to me, her body pressed against Leena’s, and reached between her thighs and began rubbing in a circular motion. Her eyes closed and she immediately smiled.

Leena turned and looked behind her, smiling at her wife. “I’ll get to you in a minute,” she said, kissing Silvy on the forehead. After that, she went back to sucking on Alena’s nipple and kissing all over her breast.

“I might as well get in on the fun,” Tressi said. She moved behind Alena and pressed her chest against Alena’s back, then began kissing her neck. Her hands slowly moved around Alena’s body, grabbing each of her massive breasts and squeezing them while Leena and Zia kept sucking.

My hands stayed on Alena’s hips and I began moving, slowly at first, thrusting in and out of her. Being a virgin, she was incredibly tight, so I couldn’t go too fast or I’d finish embarrassingly soon.

One of Zia’s hands slid down Alena’s soft stomach and went right for her clitoris. She began rubbing it back and forth, and Alena’s soft moans took on more intensity.

Alena’s eyes were squeezed shut and she focused on all the pleasure she was receiving. My wives were experts at that, and Alena was slicked with sweat in no time.

“Oh…Your Majesty Your Majesty!” Her eyes were closed as she moaned my title over and over.

“Jesus, just call me Aaron,” I said.

“Oh, Aaron!” she shouted as her entire body began to tremble.

“Looks like she’s a lively one,” Zia said with a grin as she rubbed faster on the woman’s clitoris.

“Aaron!” she shouted as her body shook with orgasmic bliss.

Zia and Leena kept sucking on her nipples and I felt her pelvic muscles tighten and spasm as she came. My hands moved from her hips around to her ass and I squeezed it hard as I began thrusting faster.

As Alena’s shaking finally subsided, Leena released her breast and began kissing the woman’s chest and shoulder. Zia let her fingers trail along Alena’s skin. The smile on her face said she was satisfied at how she had brought Alena to orgasm. From behind, Tressi released the woman’s massive breasts and gently pushed her forwards.

I reached out and pulled Alena close to me, wrapping my arms around her as I thrust inside her. Her lips eagerly sought mine and we kissed, our tongues gently pressing against each other. Alena began riding me harder and faster, and soon she was slamming her ass down against my hips, the slapping sounds echoing off the stone walls of the room.

“Oh, she’s really going at it,” Zia said. She moved back and knelt behind Alena, watching while holding Tressi’s hand. “She’s got a nice one, doesn’t she?”

“Beautiful,” Tressi said. She reached a hand out and grabbed onto Alena’s taut bottom, helping her ride me hard and fast. “Well, that’s why we chose her. Only the best for our king.”

I tried to ignore them and focused on kissing Alena. She leaned back a few inches and took her huge breasts in both hands, pushing them in my face. I grinned like a kid in a candy shop and grabbed onto those massive knockers, licking and sucking on her nipples.

“He’s gonna cum soon,” Leena said. “You can hear it in his breathing. Yep, there he goes.”

“Please cum inside me,” Alena whispered.

While I loved playing with her breasts, I was a kisser. I released those huge melons and grabbed onto her face, pulling to mine as I came deep inside her. Alena slammed her ass down on me and held it there, gyrating back and forth so that I squirted my seed as deeply as possible.

“Oh yes!” she said against my lips. “Yes, my king, yes!”

And with perfect timing, Silvy’s flickering fingers hit their mark and she began orgasming next to me. Leena was there in a heartbeat, covering her wife with passionate kisses.

Alena kept riding me until my erection was completely gone, then she sat there, breathing hard, holding her face against mine.

“Thank you for the gift of your cum, my king,” she whispered to me.

Well, I found that to be a very strange thing to say, but at least I understood what she meant.

“Of course, any time,” I said, because I was still not particularly smooth with words.

“Ha! You heard him say it,” Tressi said. She reached out and slapped Alena on the butt, then squeezed it. “Wow, that thing is quite nice.” Her hand slid beneath Alena’s ass and she gently rubbed my balls and the base of my shaft. It was more of a caress, really.

“Thank you, my king,” Alena said again. She laid her head against my shoulder and I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly.

“That’s my favorite part,” Leena said, watching how I held Alena. “I love it when he holds me like that. Hey, can I have a turn?”

I laughed. “Form a single-file line, I’ll get to you all in due time.”

“They’re going to have beautiful children,” Zia said.

“Absolutely,” Tressi replied. “There’s no doubt about that. So, who’s next?”

“I have my eyes on a few women,” Zia replied. I looked over at her and she grinned at me. “Only the most beautiful for our king.”

Tressi reached out and squeezed Alena’s ass again, then she smiled at me. “Kingly duties.”

23

Islept great that night, even with Alena still on top of me. She was light, so it wasn’t an unpleasant weight to have on me. Between an intense orgasm and being in the middle of a pile of women, I enjoyed a long, dreamless sleep.

Silvy got up first as usual to prepare our morning tea. Her movements woke Alena, who jerked herself awake and looked absolutely terrified for a split second. She took a deep breath when she remembered what had happened.

One of the fun things about these situations involved morning wood. Yeah, all guys wake up with morning wood. But when you wake up with a beautiful woman straddling your crotch, well, morning wood tends to result in spontaneous morning sex.

“Well, good morning, my king,” Alena said quietly. She worked her hips back and forth, right on top of my boner.

We were sticky from the night before, but a glob of Alena’s spit on the tip of my dick took care of that. She raised her hips off of me and reached between her legs, then rubbed the tip of my cock along her folds. With a smile, she sank down on me and sat there for a moment, enjoying the feeling of me pressing against her cervix.

Alena leaned forward, holding me tightly while slowly moving her hips. I bent my knees and held onto her ass, using it to move her up and down. I tried my best not to wake the others, and surprisingly enough I was successful.

A moment later, Silvy came over with a cup of tea in her hands. Alena straightened up and saw the tea, then smiled and reached out for it.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him this morning,” Silvy said.

“Oh. Of course, Your Majesty,” Alena said, sounding a bit disappointed. She worked her hips up and down a few more times, taking my full length, then kissed me softly and moved away.

With a big smile, Silvy climbed onto the bed, careful not to bump into Zia or Tressi. She shuffled up until she straddled my waist, then sat down. The heat of her pussy as it rested on top of my cock was absolutely intoxicating.

“Thirsty, my king?” she asked with a grin. She took a sip of the tea, then held the cup for me.

“Talk about service with a smile,” I said, and drank from the cup. It was hot, but not overly so.

“Here you are, dear,” Silvy said, holding the cup out.

Alena reached out and took the cup, then set it on the nightstand. She stood there for a moment, as if unsure of what to do. Well, she did just bang the king.

“Take his clothes to the hot springs, then go spend some time with your family,” Silvy said in a soft voice. “Today is going to be a hectic day. Try to find some peace and enjoy it.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Alena said, bobbing in a nude curtsey. She reached down and grabbed her dress, then began pulling it on. I watched as the cloth slowly covered up her flawless body.

“I do hope you look at me that way,” Silvy said. She reached between her thighs and slipped me inside her, then sank down.

I let my hands caress her breasts, then slid them down to her narrow waist and held on. “This is how I look at you,” I said as I crossed my eyes.

Silvy laughed softly, then leaned forward, tucking her face against my neck. I held her tightly in my arms and began thrusting inside her. She sighed happily as my hands slid down her back and grabbed onto her ass.

“I love it when you do that,” she said, smiling against my neck.

“This?” I asked, squeezing her ass good and hard.

“Yeah,” she said. She straightened up a bit and kissed me, not as aggressively as usual, but gently. She rode me slowly and kept her body close to mine the entire time.

We made love for quite some time, and managed to stay quiet enough that we didn’t wake the others until the final moments. Silvy liked to ride me good and hard when I got close to orgasming, and the motion eventually woke Leena and Tressi. Zia was still out and half-sideways on the bed.

I held Silvy’s face in my hands and we kissed as I came inside her. I felt her lips curve into a smile, and she collapsed in my arms. We stayed there for a moment, just loving each other, and then Silvy rolled off of me and into Leena’s arms. The two women kissed for a while and I decided it was time to get up.

“Good morning,” Tressi said in a sleepy voice, leaning over to kiss me.

“Good morning, honey,” I said. I shuffled away from her, trying to move around Zia. She was contorted in a strange position that left her ass practically sticking in the air. I slapped my palm right on her ass cheek and she woke with a start.

“No wait, I—huh?” She blinked a few times and her eyes finally focused on me.

“Good morning, gorgeous!” I said and kissed her on the forehead.

I crawled over Zia and set my feet on the thick rug there. That had been one of the first changes I had made as king; rugs everywhere. While it didn’t seem to bother the goblins, the last thing I wanted to do was put my feet on a cold stone floor first thing in the morning. Or any other time, for that matter.

My wives seemed to feel a bit lazy that morning, but I was ready to go. Eh, I guess sex will do that to a guy. I downed the last of the tea, then slipped my robe on and grabbed a towel. Alena usually brought one, but it was a good habit to be in. I stuffed my feet in my cloth slippers, grabbed the shadow stone, and left the room right as the ladies were beginning to rouse.

As soon as I stepped out of my room I put the shadow stone in my mouth. I didn’t have the time or patience to deal with endless salutes and curtseys that morning. I had a battle to prepare for.

I strode down the hall, my slippers completely silent on the stone floor. It was still early in the morning, but the Royal District was alive, with soldiers moving into formations while leaders checked weapons and armor. I stopped for a moment and watched as a sergeant snapped at a young soldier for a spot of rust on his chainmail. Good. Rust on armor was absolutely unacceptable.

I passed by another formation of soldiers that stood in place while an officer gave them a motivational speech. I listened for a moment and took some notes. Motivational speeches weren’t my thing, but as a king, I had to give them from time to time.

After that, I hurried away, eager for the hot springs. A tendril of excitement grew in my gut. I couldn’t deny it; I was eager for this battle. I almost ran down the long tunnel that connected the Royal District to the hot springs, but managed to keep myself to a fast walk.

At the end of the tunnel I passed between two royal guards standing there and went straight for the one pool of hot water roped off for royal use. Alena looked to have arrived just moments before me. She was on her knees, setting my neatly folded clothes down next to a thick towel.

I removed the shadow stone from my mouth and held it in my hand as I approached her.

“Hey, Alena,” I said.

Her head snapped up when she heard me speak. “Oh, good morning, Your Majesty.” She pushed herself to her feet and bobbed a curtsey.

“I think you can probably relax on all the curtseying for a bit, considering what just happened,” I said.

She responded with a smile. A beautiful smile.

I stood there for a moment, looking at her, wondering what to say. She was beautiful and kind, and we had just had sex. Hell, my wives had encouraged it. I didn’t want any more wives, four was plenty for me, but I didn’t want her to think I was just going to bang her and forget about her. I opened my mouth to say something but she beat me to it.

“Thank you for last night, Aaron,” she said in a quiet voice. She hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and slipped her arms beneath my robe, hugging me tightly.

“I feel like I should be thanking you,” I said.

“I don’t think you understand us yet,” she replied, leaning her cheek against my chest. “You honored me last night. Our kings are supposed to have many children, and they only choose the best and most beautiful women from the entire population. It’s normal for the wives to choose as well, since they tend to be more picky than men.”

“Ah, that makes a bit more sense,” I said. In sleeping with her, that was essentially a declaration of her flawless beauty. To be fair, she was absolutely gorgeous, easily as pretty as any one of my wives. And those tits of hers were just ridiculous.

She looked up at me, her eyes intent on mine. “The people respect you, you know. You might not hear it in the Royal District, but the people pray for your health and longevity each night. They see the work you’re doing to better our city, and they appreciate it. The people love you. I love you.”

I hesitated at that. She saw it and smiled again.

“It’s okay, Aaron.” She pulled one hand away from me and rested it on her stomach. “There is nothing more precious than the gift you’ve given me. I would ask you to help me name the child, of course. Such is your royal privilege. Our child will grow up tall and strong, a leader among our people.”

I almost asked if child support was a thing in this world, but I assumed being impregnated by the king did come with some advantages. “I don’t know what to say, Alena. Thank you.”

“No, thank you,” she said, her smile changing to something more devious. “Do you need any help cleaning off?

I looked down at her massive breasts and wondered if I could spare some time for a quickie. Let me tell you, it was tempting.

“After the battle,” I said, although my sudden erection said otherwise.

She looked down at it and smiled as she wrapped her small fingers around it.

“I promise, once all this is done we’ll have a more in-depth discussion about all this. Apparently it’s normal for the king to just impregnate all the most beautiful women.” She nodded, confirming what I had said. I continued. “I’d like to make sure you’re all taken care of and given an honored position, though. It feels wrong, otherwise.”

“Thank you, Aaron,” she said quietly. “That’s very thoughtful of you.”

She stretched up onto her toes and I bent down and kissed her. Her hands went behind my head and my arms wrapped around her, and we stayed that way for quite some time, just kissing. Finally, though, I pulled away. The trolls would arrive at some time, and I wanted to be ready.

“I’ll see you soon,” she said, taking a step back. She dropped into a curtsey that left me wondering just how her breasts stayed within her dress. “Your Majesty,” she said, then turned and walked away.

I watched her hips sway for a moment, then turned back to the hot springs. It was just me and my erection, then. I looked over and saw a few women bathing a few pools over. They definitely noticed me and stared, wide-eyed. I just laughed and hopped into the hot water.

I briefly wondered how things had been with the previous king, Ralcor. But then I remembered that Silvy had cursed him and made him sterile only days after he became king. He punished her severely for it, of course. Remembering that made my situation make more sense.

It was normal for kings to have many children. Ralcor had been an outlier—he used sex as punishment. He forced himself upon people to shame them. I had a feeling that even if he hadn’t been sterilized, he would have been the same way. The goblin people were probably eager for a king that wanted to make children.

The hot mineral water made me want to just relax for an hour, but I focused on cleaning the sex off of myself. Once I was done I climbed out and dried off with a thick towel, then checked my clothes.

Alena had selected a white shirt, which I almost always wore, with a red vest and dark pants. No coat or cloak, as she knew I would probably be wearing armor. Instead of my boots with silver scrolls on the heel and toe, she had brought a pair of plain, dark brown boots better suited to fighting. My sword and sword belt were there as well, and I buckled them on. I could always count on her.

I pulled my clothes on, then dried my hair a bit more and tossed the towel on the ground. I was ready. It was time to fight.

24

Ibounced the shadow stone on my hand a few times, wondering if there was any use for it in the fight. Probably not, but I kept it in my pocket like always. Better safe than sorry.

I strolled through the hot springs with my head high, for once not taking the time to admire the beautiful women bathing. At least there were only a few people there at the moment. The day of a troll attack was not the best time to be lounging around in a hot spring.

After passing through the tunnel that led to the Tunnel District, I walked over to where a group of soldiers rested. They immediately snapped to their feet and saluted me when I came near.

“Yes, yes. Okay, that’s the only salute for the day. Got it?” I said.

They all replied in the affirmative.

“Have you heard anything yet, Your Majesty?” a young soldier asked.

“No,” I told him. “The moment a scout sees anything, I’ll be one of the first people to know. But so far, I’ve heard nothing.” I walked over to the weapons rack where the spears leaned against the wall and grabbed one. Well, I was better with a spear than with a sword, so it seemed doubly appropriate.

I left the soldiers there and walked down the long tunnel. Even with the attack approaching, workers pushing carts filled with loose stone moved back and forth in the tunnel. They were really working overtime digging that new tunnel, for which I was grateful.

Four soldiers stood at the mouth of the tunnel when I got there. Of course they immediately saluted me. I wanted to put an end to it, but ultimately it was appropriate for them to salute their king. It just got annoying at times.

“Any signs of trolls yet?” I asked.

“Nothing yet, Your Majesty,” said a man with a gruff voice. “We stand ready, though.”

After a moment I recognized him; many months ago, I had hit him in the head with a small rock as a distraction while sneaking out of the tunnel. He had immediately attacked the other soldier there, thinking he had done it. Well, at least I knew the man was a fighter. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to hold any ill will against me.

I almost asked why no one had a looking glass, but then I remembered how sharp goblin eyesight was. Plus, it was hard to see far through the dense forest.

With my spear in hand, I left the tunnel and wandered around a bit. First, I went towards the pile of rocks to my left. It was damn near the size of a school bus now.

Two armed guards flanked a young woman that worked with magic there. I could feel the power in her, even though I couldn’t use elemental magic. She held an incredible amount of magic within her, and used it to melt and fuse all the loose stone into a solid block.

I stood there and watched as the pile of stones suddenly shifted. The guards jumped back, but the woman held her ground. The pile of stones gradually flattened and grew wider until it formed into a massive foundation. It took her probably ten minutes to do, but at least the outer edge of it was fused into a solid chunk of stone.

The woman staggered and one of the guards rushed forward, catching her beneath the arm. He held her against him and she stayed there for a few minutes, breathing heavily.

I was really only capable of two things with my blood magic; killing and healing. I couldn’t imagine how much strength it took to move that much rock. Well, I had felt how much power she held inside her and it had been a considerable amount; more than I could hold, and according to Silvy, I was about as strong as they came. I decided to approach them.

I held up a hand, halting the guards before they saluted me. The woman opened her green eyes and gave me a faint smile. She was a pretty woman with brown hair so dark it was almost black. At that moment she had it in a thick braid that nearly reached her waist.

“Good morning, Your Majesty,” she said, her voice weak.

“Are you alright?” I asked. “Just tired after handling that much magic?”

She nodded. “I’m the only one strong enough to make the foundation. What you see here, plus it extends ten feet below the ground. It won’t move for a thousand years.”

“Wow,” I said. I reached out for her and the guard passed her to me. “If anyone has earned a break, it’s you,” I told her as I hefted her in my arms.

“Oh, Your Majesty! I’m okay, really,” she said, moving as if she wanted down.

“Nonsense,” I said. I kept my grip on her and held her tightly against me. “Thank you,” I told the soldiers.

“Where are you taking me, Your Majesty?” she asked, clearly concerned that the king himself was holding her.

I was tempted to make a joke about her being one of my new wives, but she’d probably take it seriously and leap at the opportunity.

“I’m taking you back into the Tunnel District so you can rest for a while,” I said. “You almost passed out there a few seconds ago. It’s okay, relax. I’ve got you.” I squeezed her a bit, hoping she would accept the gesture as something friendly. “Hold on to me, okay?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” she said, and reached out.

She wrapped her arms around my neck as I turned and walked back towards the tunnel. One of the benefits of our size difference was that goblin women were easy to carry. She was probably eighty pounds at the most, and I was a decently strong guy. Carrying her was a piece of cake.

“I’ve never seen anyone work with stone like you,” I said as we entered the tunnel. The soldiers there saluted me again and I gave them a nod.

She gave me a hesitant look before finally thanking me. Had I finally found the one shy goblin woman? Considering how many of them flirted with me on a regular basis, I found it a bit strange.

“Hey, relax,” I said quietly. “Everything’s okay. No need to be stressed around me, alright? Just hold on tightly to me.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” she said. She kept her grip around the back of my neck.

“No, tighter,” I said.

“Um. Okay, Your Majesty,” she said, and held on a bit tighter.

“Uh oh, I think I might drop you,” I said.

She held me even closer and a smile finally broke through her shyness.

“There we go,” I said.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I’ve just never been around royalty before.”

“No need to apologize,” I said, looking around the tunnel. “Hey, how quickly can you move stone?”

“What do you mean?”

I stopped and turned to face the tunnel wall. “If you were well-rested, how quickly could you move this wall? Even just a small section of it, like to block someone.”

She frowned for a moment. “Stone is hard to work with, Your Majesty. It resists any kind of movement and has to be forced into place. It would probably take me, I don’t know…maybe ten or fifteen seconds to move that wall a foot. Just a small section of the wall, that is.”

My thoughts churned. “I don’t want you to work on the tunnel again until the attack is over,” I said. “I may need you for something more important.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” she said. “Whatever you need, I’m here to serve you.”

I looked down at her after she said that. Had anyone else said that, they would have been flirting with me. But she actually meant it.

“You’re a nice person,” I said. “Hey, I have a question. Your magical talent—is that hereditary? Does your mother have any talent with magic as well?”

She began to loosen her grip on me, so I looked sharply at her arms. With a giggle, she tightened her grip on me until she was about as close as could be. A bit of innocent flirtation was nice, and it also made it easier to carry her the length of the tunnel.

“My mother is strong with magic as well, yes, Your Majesty,” she said. “We didn’t know until just recently, since Ralcor all but outlawed magic.”

“And she uses the same type of magic as you?” I asked. Would all my children be capable with blood magic? That could prove to be dangerous if any of them wound up lacking in morals.

“Not entirely,” she said. “My mother is strong with elemental magic overall, just as I am. But her strength lies more with water than with stone.”

“So your magical strength is passed down to your children, but not necessarily the exact type of magic?”

She nodded. “As far as I understand, yes. Um, Your Majesty.”

We reached the end of the tunnel and I took a right turn. I walked towards where they were building the tunnel. Several women rested there, and another drank from a water skin. Men pushed carts filled with loose stone away from the building site. They were all working hard. I approached the bench, waving away the bows and curtseys.

“Thank you for carrying me, Your Majesty,” she said.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“Coraline, Your Majesty,” she replied. She pulled her hands away, probably assuming I was going to set her down.

I walked over and sat down on the edge of a bench and plopped her on my leg. She gasped and I looked down at her arms. With a shy smile she put her arms back around me.

“Take as long as you need to rest,” I told her. “You’ve earned it.”

Something about her shyness was attractive to me. Every day I dealt with beautiful women practically throwing themselves at me. It was nice to be the pursuer every once in a while. Besides, she was quite beautiful.

She shifted on my leg and got comfortable. After a brief hesitation, she leaned towards me and rested her head on my shoulder. I felt her body relax in my arms after that, and just enjoyed having her there.

Other women saw us and smiled. It looked like Tressi was right; the people wanted to see me with women. They wanted me to have a million kids. I let my hand slide down to her waist and kept it there.

Ten minutes later, Tressi and Leena walked into the area. Leena nudged her wife and pointed my way, and then they both walked over to us.

Everyone bowed and curtseyed for them; my wives accepted it much better than I did. They were better at that whole royalty thing than I was.

When Coraline noticed the queens approaching she moved to slide off my lap, but I held her tightly there. “You’re fine,” I told her quietly. “You don’t need to go anywhere.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” she whispered.

Tressi and Leena stopped in front of me, pointedly looking Coraline up and down.

“Taking your kingly duties more seriously, I see,” Tressi said. “Who is this?”

“This is Coraline,” I said. “I believe she’s our most powerful magic user, at least when it comes to working with stone. That magical power will be passed down to her children.”

Tressi put her hands on her hips and nodded approvingly. She looked Coraline up and down again, more thoroughly this time. “I accept,” she said after a moment. “Leena?”

Leena examined her as well. “It’s important to have strong magic users among the population. With you being the father, you might wind up with some men finally able to use magic as well. Besides, she is awfully cute, and brown hair is rare among the goblins.” She punctuated that with a smile.

“Is everything okay, Your Majesties?” Coraline asked. She looked nervous.

“I would say so,” Tressi replied. “It looks like King Aaron is taking his duties more seriously.”

Coraline turned and looked at me. I found myself at a loss for words; even though it was expected for me to sire many children, I couldn’t think of a way to just ask her if she wanted me to impregnate her. Fortunately, Tressi saved the day.

“Coraline, right?” Tressi asked.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” she replied.

“We approve of you having children with King Aaron. The more, the better. You may start whenever you are both ready.”

Well, hard to be more direct than that.

Coraline turned to me, her eyes wide. “Oh, is that true, Your Majesty?” She blushed all the way to her hairline.

“Looks like it,” I said with a chuckle. I leaned forward and pecked her on the lips. “We should probably focus on the battle first, though.”

Leena shrugged. “If the trolls don’t show up for a while, I see nothing wrong with you taking care of business. After all, that’s the future of our people.”

I just held Coraline tightly and laughed.

25

Tressi and Leena left after that and walked towards the tunnel. I kept my arms around Coraline, who seemed more comfortable with me after that conversation.

“I can’t believe you chose me,” Coraline said, sounding excited. “I’m ready whenever you are, Your Majesty.”

“Let’s focus on the troll attack first,” I said. “Priorities, after all.”

“Oh. Of course, Your Majesty. That makes perfect sense.”

I paused for a moment, then leaned forward and kissed her. It was a soft kiss, just something to help break the ice. I was expected to impregnate this woman so I didn’t want her to be a total stranger.

“You keep resting here,” I told her as I finally slid her off my lap. “I want you to be at your full strength, or as close to it, when the trolls arrive. I have an idea and I think you’re the only one strong enough to pull it off.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” she said, bobbing a quick curtsey.

“Oh yeah, and enough with the bobbing and bowing. If we’re going to have a kid, I want us to be on more equal grounds.”

She blinked. “Alright, Your Ma—um.”

“Aaron,” I said.

“Alright, Aaron.”

We both smiled at each other. I reached out and took her hand, then pulled her to me. I kissed her again, a bit more passionate that time, then slapped her on the butt when we finished. After that I stood up and left the area.

I walked back down the tunnel, seeking out my wives. I found them at the end, watching the forest. Leena had her eyes closed and one hand in the air, and she seemed to be whispering something. I recognized it as her sending a message to her father via magic.

“You did well,” Tressi said to me. “She is very pretty, but her talent with magic is more important. Having children with women like her will make us stronger with magic as a species.”

“I’m glad you approve,” I said. “It still feels weird to me.”

I reached out for Tressi and she smiled and stepped close. We embraced for a while, then she stretched up onto her toes and puckered her lips. I bent down and kissed her, then wrapped my arms around her and lifted her from the ground. She giggled as I held her a foot off the ground, kissing her as thoroughly as I knew how.

“I just want to make sure you know that I love you, honey,” I told her.

“I don’t think I could ever forget,” she said, her eyes on mine.

Reluctantly, I set her feet back on the ground just as Leena finished sending her message. I pointed over to the stone foundation.

“Wow,” Leena said. “That one woman did that?”

“Yeah, in about ten minutes,” I replied. “It drained her of her strength, but that’s one solid piece now. She said it extends about ten feet below the ground as well.”

Tressi shook her head. “I’m strong when working with stone, but I can’t even imagine doing something like that. Talent like hers is rare, indeed.” She looked up at me. “You definitely did a good job in choosing her.”

I ran my fingers through my hair. I don’t think I’d ever get used to that.

“Anything yet?” I asked Leena.

Her lips moved silently for a moment before answering me. “They’re ready. Archers are at the top of every tree and on every bridge. My father said they have almost a thousand people up there with bows. They couldn’t grow that many bows magically, so they had to cut many branches off to make them. They’ll apologize to the trees after this and help them regrow.”

Apologize to the trees? Well, they did sort of communicate with them using magic. Althidon had once told me they used magic to basically convince the tree to grow in the direction they wanted. They had built an entire city that way.

“Tell him we’re ready as well,” I said.

“I already did,” Leena replied with a smile.

“Good,” I said, looking around. “Now, we wait. I could almost wish for them to hurry the hell up. I’m getting impatient.”

“It’s a shame Silvy isn’t here to admonish you for that statement,” Tressi said, her lips curving into a smile.

I laughed. She was right.

“Let’s go back inside,” I said. “We can wait at the other end of the tunnel instead of standing out here in the sun.”

“The sun feels so good, though,” Tressi said, closing her eyes and angling her face towards the sky.

“That’s because you don’t have Swedish skin like me,” I said, raising my hand to show my paleness.

“Fair enough,” Tressi said.

She reached out with both hands. Leena took one of them and I took the other, and together the three of us walked back to the tunnel. We took our time going back to the city. At this point there wasn’t anything else we could really do except wait. The soldiers were ready, and word had been passed to the citizens. In the event of a disaster—not that I expected anything like that—they were ready as well.

When we got to the other end of the tunnel, we went to the small outpost that had been established for the soldiers. Two men had pushed a cart filled with food there and were handing out a late breakfast to the soldiers. My wives and I got in line and ate with them. Some of the soldiers got a kick out of that, eating with royalty.

A sergeant walked among the crowd, quietly giving orders to soldiers. They nodded and wolfed down the rest of their food when he spoke to them.

“Everything okay, sergeant?” I asked.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” he replied. “Just notifying the next shift to hurry up and get down there.”

“I’ll go with them,” I said. “You two take your time. There’s no reason for either of you to rush,” I said to my wives.

“I’ll go as well,” Silvy said as she walked up.

The soldiers practically fell over themselves standing and bowing to her. Everyone loved Queen Silvy. Not only due to her history, but her overall demeanor. Silvy was my wife, my queen, and my chief advisor. She practically ran the city herself, to be honest. There wasn’t a thing she couldn’t do, and everyone knew that. She was a survivor and an inspiration to the other women.

“I’m flattered, but please sit, all of you,” she said to the soldiers.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” they said in unison.

I ate the last of my food and handed my bowl to a servant. After that, Silvy took hold of my arm and we left the tables and benches and walked down the tunnel. She asked a servant to bring some food to us in a couple hours.

“I think this tunnel will always bring back memories of you,” Silvy said to me as we walked. She squeezed my arm and smiled up at me.

“Same,” I said. “I’m just glad things turned out the way they did.”

“They could have been much different, that’s for certain,” Silvy said as she scanned the treeline. “When do you think they’ll come?”

“I’ve been told by several people that trolls are on the lazy side, so later rather than sooner,” I said. “Although I’ll just rely on my scouts.”

“Probably the best idea,” she said.

I could tell she was nervous from the idle conversation. Silvy wasn’t really one for small talk. As a passionate woman, she preferred deeper topics.

The day dragged on and eventually a servant brought us some food. Leena came out at one point to send another message to her father. The soldiers leaned against the face of the cliff next to the tunnel and told crude jokes. I got the feeling they would be smoking if they had any.

Time passed and the shadows began to stretch, shading the mouth of the tunnel. I leaned over to tell Silvy a joke, but at that moment a goblin scout came running through the woods. He held a fast pace even though I could tell he had been running for quite some time. His clothes were mottled green and brown, the closest thing to camouflage our tailors could make. Sweat covered his face and slicked his hair. He looked absolutely terrified.

“They’re coming!” he shouted as he crossed the treeline.

“Well, here we go,” I said. “Time for the fight to begin.”

Next to me the soldiers readied their spears and stepped into the mouth of the tunnel. Some of them cracked jokes about where they were going to ram those spears.

“How many?” I called out to the scout as he ran towards us.

“Thirteen!” he shouted. He stopped in front of me and bent over, breathing hard.

“It’s okay, catch your breath,” I said. “They’ll have to deal with the elves before they get to us, after all.”

“No,” he replied, shaking his head. “No, this is bad, Your Majesty. It’s not what we expected.”

26

Ibacked into the mouth of the tunnel with the rest of the soldiers. Silvy followed.

“What are you talking about?” I asked the scout.

“It’s their armor, Your Majesty,” he said between breaths. “They’re just ignoring the elven arrows completely. They’ve set fire to some of the great trees!”

I looked over at Silvy. She looked as shocked as I felt. “Oh, this is bad,” I said. “This is really bad. You! Get Leena,” I said to the nearest soldier. “Tell her what’s getting on. She’ll know what to do.” The soldier took off running down the tunnel.

“What are you going to do?” Silvy asked me.

“You’re looking at me like you expect me to do something stupid,” I said to her.

“Yes, I am,” she replied.

“Well, good. Because I’m going to do something stupid,” I said, giving her my best smile.

“At least I know what to expect out of you,” she said.

“Can you run or do I need to carry you?” I asked.

She gave me a flat look.

“I’m serious,” I said. “I’m going to go help the elves. You’re the only one that knows troll magic. I need you with me if you can make it.”

Her hand went to her stomach. “I worry about our child, but if the trolls win, there won’t be a city left for him to grow up in. I’m ready.”

We set off at a jog. For being four feet tall with huge tits, Silvy kept a good pace. I knew it couldn’t be comfortable for her with those things bouncing on her chest, so after a few minutes I grabbed her and had her climb onto my back.

“I feel like a child, holding onto you like this,” she said.

“We’re almost there!” I told her. We moved faster with her on my back.

It only took me about five minutes to see what the scout meant.

As soon as the nearest troll came into view, I slowed to a crawl and set Silvy down. She gasped and huddled behind the nearest tree. I went with her.

The trolls were big, damn big. They had to have been at least ten or twelve feet tall. What was most disturbing was their armor. Each troll that I could see wore a bell-shaped steel helmet, with only small piercings for the eyes. Their top halves were covered in steel armor as well, with long mail skirts protecting their legs. Arrows rained down upon them, and the trolls simply ignored them. With their heavy armor, the arrows had no effect.

“They have a shaman with them, just as I expected,” Silvy said. Her eyebrows drew down into a tight frown. “We should try to kill him first.”

I watched in horror as a troll walked up to the base of one of the great trees and held a torch to it. Thick, black smoke roiled off the end of the torch as the bark of the great tree began to smolder. Arrows pinged harmlessly off his steel helmet, and I saw his great shoulders move as if he were laughing.

“Over there,” Silvy said quietly as she pointed.

I followed her finger and saw another troll, this one great and fat, standing a few hundred feet away. His body was covered with strange clothes made of fur and feathers, and another troll warrior held a massive shield above his head.

The troll shaman held a gnarled staff in hand and tapped it on the ground in a precise rhythm. I noticed as he did so, the torch the troll held against the base of the tree flickered and grew brighter, its fire more intense.

“It’s very hard to set fire to one of the great trees,” Silvy said. She sounded angry. “The wood is very dense. It doesn’t catch easily at all. It looks like that shaman is using magic to drive the torches.”

“Well, let’s kill him, then,” I said.

“The sooner the better,” Silvy said.

We kept low and moved through the underbrush. It wasn’t very dense—honestly not enough to offer us much concealment, if any—but it was better than nothing. I suddenly remembered the shadow stone and pulled it out.

“I’m gonna use this,” I said, showing Silvy the stone. “Can you do something like that with magic?”

“To an extent,” she said. “Leena has taught me some of her magic and I can use it to move from tree to tree.”

“Perfect. I’m heading for that shaman,” I said, and slipped the shadow stone into my mouth.

Curiosity got the better of me and I waited for a moment to see what Silvy was going to do. She closed her eyes and whispered something, her voice oddly echoing and reverberating. I blinked and she was gone.

“What the hell?” I said, looking around.

I found her twenty feet away, standing behind a tree. She opened her eyes briefly and looked around, then closed them and began whispering again.

I ran through the bushes and tried to avoid stepping on dead branches. A tendril of fear took root in my gut and grew as I drew closer to the shaman and warrior in front of me. I struggled to keep that fear in check as I approached them.

Oh god, they were fucking huge. Trolls had an odd shape—ribcage too big, arms too long, massive shoulders—but I could tell, even through the armor, that the warrior was covered with thick muscle. The shaman had a huge belly, but was no slouch in the shoulder department either. Arrows pinged off the shield that the warrior held above the shaman’s head. I noticed several arrows bounce off the shaman’s stomach, as if striking an invisible barrier a few inches from his skin.

“This won’t be easy,” Silvy said, suddenly appearing right next to me.

I nearly leaped out of my skin when she spoke. “How should we start?” I asked.

“We have to get rid of the warrior first,” she said. “Then, the shaman will have to devote all of his magic towards keeping his fat hide safe.” After pulling a stone dagger from her belt pouch, she looked up at me. Seeing as it was still daylight, she could see a shimmering outline of my form. “Here we go.”

Silvy held the dagger, point-down, and began changing something in a harsh language that seemed at odds with her soft, beautiful face. The words definitely didn’t match her usually gentle voice. She slipped behind the nearest tree and peeked around it.

I pulled as much magical power as I could into myself and reached out to the warrior. I avoided doing anything that could announce my presence and instead just felt around, waiting on Silvy to make the first move

Immediately, I could sense the troll’s resistance to magic. Trying to feel through his body with blood magic felt like trying to perform surgery with mittens on. Next to me, Silvy continued her chanting, and drew her stone dagger across the bark of the tree in an X. She plunged her arm into the tree and it sank all the way to her shoulder.

The trolls stood next to a tree—not one of the great trees, but a large one—and I grinned as Silvy’s arm suddenly emerged from the bark, right near the roots. Her dagger plunged into the troll’s lower leg, right below his mail skirt. The troll roared and swung his massive shield down, trying to strike Silvy. She pulled her arm out just in time.

I lashed out with blood magic right as the shaman shouted angrily. I felt through the troll warrior’s body and found his heart. The thing was massive, like a horse’s heart, and I poured all my power into it, slowing it to a crawl. I couldn’t stop it, no matter how hard I tried.

A fresh barrage of arrows rained down on the shaman and he shouted his chants, working overtime to keep himself safe. I glanced over my shoulder at the troll trying to burn the great tree. His torch had gone out, but the bark was black and scorched.

“Can you do any more?” Silvy asked.

“I’m trying,” I said through clenched teeth.

Stopping his heart simply wouldn’t work, that much was clear. The troll staggered, but he was still in the fight. He shouted several obscenities and looked around, trying to find who was attacking him.

I switched my attack to his brain and cut off as much blood as possible. That was a more difficult target for me to work with, but also more effective. Within seconds his shouting stopped and he shook his head as if trying to clear my presence from his mind. I was relentless and did everything I could. I slowed the blood flow to his brain, I tried to redirect it to random places, I pulled blood from his legs. Everything I did was muted, as if only a small percentage of my power made it through.

“It’s working!” Silvy said, her voice a harsh whisper. She bent down, still chanting, and drew an X in the soil, then rammed her dagger into the ground.

Her arm emerged between the troll’s feet and her dagger plunged into his leg, right above the top of his boot. She twisted her hand and pulled, tearing open a vicious wound.

The troll stomped its massive foot, but Silvy had already pulled her arm away. A steady stream of blood ran down its leg and stained the soil.

I changed my attack. I wasn’t strong enough to stop the blood flow to his heart or brain, so instead I pushed his blood towards the wound in his leg. It sprayed out like a garden hose.

The shaman’s face was dark with anger, but his focus was on keeping the arrows from striking him. Whatever spell he was using that gave him a magical shield, it took all of his concentration. Arrows struck the air inches from his face and shattered.

“Keep doing that!” Silvy said, loudly enough for me to hear her but quietly enough to stay hidden. She went back to her chanting and carved another X onto the tree. This time, her dagger slid up the troll’s leg, pushing his mail skirt up until she sliced his knee open.

I focused my magical energy on that wound as well, and blood poured in a thick stream down his leg. The ground was soaked, the soil churned into red mud. He thrashed around and slammed his shield against the tree nearby, taking a thick chunk out of it.

After a moment his movement slowed and he fell to his knees. He slammed his shield against the ground and tried to use it to push himself back to his feet, but he was weak from blood loss.

“Yes, that’s it,” Silvy said.

I watched as she carved another X into the soil and thrust her arm down. The dagger in her hand emerged from the ground between the troll’s legs and I turned my head, unable to watch. Seconds later, the troll howled in pain. I looked back and saw him clutching at his crotch, at his knee, at his leg. Anything to stop the bleeding. His strength gave out and he fell onto his side, his breath coming in rasping wheezes.

“He’s done, focus on the shaman,” Silvy whispered.

I tried to reach out to the shaman but it was like hitting a brick wall. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t break through.

“I can’t do anything,” I said to Silvy.

Silvy squinted at the shaman for a moment, then went back to chanting. Between her chanting and the shaman’s, I felt like I was surrounded by monks, albeit oddly harsh and guttural ones.

The shaman looked around, his eyes bulging with rage. He desperately sought whoever was interrupting his magic, his plans. His eyes found Silvy and narrowed.

I looked over and saw Silvy, only the top of her head peeking out from behind the tree. Shit. He had seen her. She dropped down, drawing another X on the ground.

The troll shaman slammed the butt of his staff onto the ground. Shockwaves spread from it, like mini earthquakes centered on his staff. He slammed it down again, and it was nearly enough to knock me off my feet, even twenty feet away.

“Shit!” Silvy said, then went back to her chanting. She drew another X on the ground and drove her dagger into the soil

The troll shaman suddenly roared in pain and raised his bloody foot from the ground. He didn’t wear thick boots like his warrior fellows, and instead wore what looked like wool slippers. Blood ran in a steady stream from the bottom of his right foot.

That was all it took. I lashed out with magic and was able to change his blood flow. His life drained from his foot at a rapid rate, but after a few seconds it slowed and my grasp on his blood slipped away. It was like trying to hold onto a fish covered in Vaseline.

The damage was done, though. He was bleeding heavily from his foot, and had to direct most of his attention towards his arrow shield, so he couldn’t really fight back.

I looked over and saw Silvy was gone. Glancing around, it took me a moment to find her. She was ten feet back and to the side, hiding behind another tree. I rushed over towards her but she waved me away. Instead, I ran in the other direction, so as to not draw attention to her. I was the invisible one, after all. She was a target.

The shaman slammed his staff into the ground again, sending another shockwave out. That time, it did knock me off my feet.

I scrambled back into a crouching position and realized I was going to have to do this the hard way. My spear was back at the tunnel, but I had my sword. I glanced over at Silvy and saw her pushing herself to her feet. There was only one way to end this.

I drew my sword and ran in a half circle around the shaman. He continued slamming his staff into the ground, but I managed to jump over the next shockwave and avoided falling on my ass. Soon, I was right behind him, sword in hand. Next to me was the troll warrior, still wheezing. His armor was made to deflect anything coming from above. I slid my sword beneath his helmet and sliced halfway through his neck. He was done.

The sheer size of the shaman was hard to put into words. He was massive, easily ten feet tall. I couldn’t even begin to guess his weight, but a full ton wouldn’t have surprised me. Each time he slammed his staff into the ground I had to jump to avoid being knocked over. This close I could smell him, his sweat, the smell of old armor and his unwashed, fat body.

Arrows still bounced off that invisible shield around him, so I wasn’t sure I’d even be able to do anything. I looked over to where Silvy was hiding and hoped she had something up her sleeve.

The shaman suddenly roared in pain again as blood poured from his other foot. He took a few stumbling steps back and staggered behind a nearby tree. I noticed an arrow managed to catch him on the chest in that time. It didn’t fully penetrate his skin, but left a bleeding gash.

God damn, How thick was this guy’s skin that a razor-sharp arrow didn’t even fully punch through?

But I knew I had my opening. In that split second he hid behind a tree to gather himself, I rushed up behind him and drove my sword into his lower back. I put all of my weight behind it and the sword only punched through a few inches.

The shaman spun, swinging his massive fist, and I yanked my sword out just in time. He would have decapitated me, had that blow landed. I silently thanked Silvy for the shadow stone and rammed my sword into his gut as he turned. Again, it only penetrated a few inches, but it was enough.

At that same time, Silvy’s arm emerged from the tree he hid behind and her dagger plunged into his hip, all the way to the hilt. She pulled her hand back just in time to avoid it being broken. The dagger remained in place, though.

The shaman struggled to regain his concentration and began roaring a new chant. He swung his staff in my general direction and I dived behind the nearest tree. A wall of flames fanned out, incinerating all the underbrush and singing my clothes.

Shit. This bastard was tough. Tough and deadly. I had to end this now, or he’d find a way to kill both of us.

I reached down and grabbed an egg-sized rock from near my feet and threw it to the side. It struck a tree and the shaman turned, unleashing another barrage of fire. The tree he stood near shielded him from arrows, although I noticed he stood far enough away that Silvy couldn’t reach him. Plus, he moved around too much for her to attack his feet.

I kept my body low and rushed around the other side of him, although I had to be careful. If one of those arrows hit me, I’d be done for. I had been lucky earlier. I kept myself behind a tree and waited for my opportunity.

With the shaman behind a tree, the arrows eventually stopped. He let out a triumphant laugh, then looked around himself, scanning for Silvy and me.

I wasn’t entirely sure how Silvy did it, but thin roots sprouted from the ground and wrapped themselves around the shaman’s ankles. He shouted in surprised anger and tried to pull away, but the roots tripped him. He crashed to the ground like a thousand-pound pork roast.

Wasting no time, I rushed in before the arrows started. I used my momentum to ram my sword into his shoulder, right next to his neck. The blade sank in a full foot, and I twisted and yanked it out. There was no recovering from a wound like that.

I backed away as he swung his massive fist around. His staff was next. He swung it around in my general direction and toxic spores fanned out from the tip of his staff like a can of spray paint. I pulled my shirt over my nose and mouth and continued backing away. Where the spores landed, the foliage turned black.

The shaman tried to push himself to his feet, but he was weak. Internal bleeding would take him any moment, now. A lone arrow flew through the air and struck him in the shoulder, drawing more blood. He snarled in anger, but fell to his knees again, clutching at his chest. It was only a matter of time, and he’d be dead.

I circled around, steering wide of him and avoiding the few arrows that soared in his direction. After a moment I found Silvy and knelt next to her, then spat out my shadow stone.

“What did you do?” she asked, keeping her eyes on the shaman. “The tree was in the way, so I couldn’t see.

I tapped my shoulder, right next to my neck. “I pushed my sword in here. There are some vital arteries in that area, and the top of your lungs as well. Right now he’s bleeding to death and probably drowning in his own blood.”

Silvy winced. “Nasty.”

“Yeah,” I said, peering around the tree. With the shaman lying prone, the arrows had all but stopped. The elves saw the pool of blood. The shaman struck the ground with his staff, but no magic came out. His breath stirred the leaves in front of him for a moment, and then he was dead.

27

Ilooked around, trying to figure out exactly where I was.

“Well, now we have eleven more to take care of,” I said.

Silvy looked ill when I said that.

“You think you can keep doing that thing with the dagger and the tree?” I asked her.

She frowned. “Maybe. It takes a lot out of me. Troll magic is very difficult.” She left and walked towards the shaman.

How were we going to kill eleven more trolls? These two had been hard enough, and luck had been on our side. I watched as Silvy bent down and pulled her dagger from the shaman’s side, then wiped the stone blade on his fat body. She then rejoined me.

“They’re still trying to burn the trees,” she said, pointing to my left. “They won’t be able to accomplish much with their shaman dead, but they’re still a problem.”

“Let’s go,” I said, reaching out for her. Funny how I still wanted to hold her hand, even amidst a battle with trolls. She gave a soft chuckle and grabbed my hand.

We slowly made our way through the woods, keeping an eye out for troll warriors. They were easy enough to spot, and once we got closer we saw them.

My heart sank when I saw the blackened bark of the great trees. The flames hadn’t caught, thank god, but the trees had suffered plenty. Without the shaman to maintain the fire on the torches, the trolls had mostly cast them aside. One troll still held his torch to the base of a great tree, blowing on it through tiny holes in his helmet. Arrows fell all around him and struck his armor, but he just ignored them.

“How the fuck are we going to do this?” I said, mostly just thinking out loud.

“We should draw them away from the trees,” Silvy said. “They’ll be more vulnerable in the tunnel.”

I thought for a moment about their armor and how that would work in the narrow confines of the tunnel. It was going to be a hard fight, much harder than we expected, but I had an idea.

“I need you to run back home,” I told Silvy. “I’m much faster than you. I’ll get their attention and then join you.”

Silvy chuckled softly. “See? You called it home as well.”

I smiled. “Yeah, it works in some ways. At least being underground, things will be quiet and peaceful. Our bit of solace amidst this chaos.” I snapped my fingers. “That’s it!”

Silvy looked up at me. “Huh?”

“We’re naming the city that. Solace.”

“Hopefully we’ll have a city left after all this,” Silvy said, her voice grim.

“Well, now we have to. I like that name.” I bent down and kissed the top of her head. “Okay, I need you to hurry away. I’ll catch up.” I took a moment to explain my plan to her. She nodded as she listened. Fortunately, it was a simple plan, so it only took me a few seconds to tell her.

Silvy took a deep breath. “Hold on.”

We hid behind a large tree and she turned to face it, then began chanting again. The harsh, guttural words she spoke had a tribal feel to them. I knew it was a magical language because I couldn’t understand a bit of it.

The troll closest to us was kneeling on the ground and holding his torch against the base of a great tree. Silvy’s arm suddenly emerged from a thick root and went right up his chain skirt. Her dagger sank into his leg, and she pulled her arm back before the troll could snap it off. He fell onto his back, clutching his knee and roaring in pain.

“That’s it for me,” Silvy said. I could hear the exhaustion in her voice. She reached out and squeezed my hand. “Be careful, Aaron.”

“I love you, honey,” I said. I kissed the top of her head again.

Silvy sheathed her stone dagger, then held onto both of her large breasts and began jogging away. I heard her mutter something about the risk of getting two black eyes with breasts that large.

I turned back and saw the troll warrior stagger to his feet. Reaching out with blood magic, I forced as much of his blood as I could to spray from the wound in his leg. He walked with a limp and turned in a circle, looking for whoever was attacking him.

I slipped the shadow stone back into my mouth. Almost forgot about that thing.

The troll stopped suddenly and I turned to see what he was facing. I couldn’t see his face through the helmet, but I got the impression he had seen something that caught his attention.

It was Silvy. He had seen her.

He staggered a few steps, then lurched into a loping jog. Shit, with his height he’d catch up to her in less than a minute. She would stand no chance. I had to do something.

Arrows fell all around, but thankfully the elves had incredibly precise aim. Most of the arrows struck the troll’s helmet and torso. Some archers aimed for his legs, but the mail skirt protected him.

The troll ran by the tree I was hiding behind and my desire to protect Silvy made me do something incredibly stupid that I immediately regretted. I slammed my shoulder into his leg in an effort to trip him, the same leg he had been stabbed in.

Well, I did manage to trip him. However, his legs were taller than I was, so the force of his leg moving sent me flying through the air like a piece of litter tumbling down a Cleveland street.

My side hurt and I thought I had a broken finger, but there was no time to check either. I scrambled to my feet and rushed towards the troll. Arrows still fell, but if I removed the shadow stone so the elves could see me, the troll would be able to see me as well. Speed was my only option.

Moving as quickly as possible, I reached out and grabbed his mail skirt and yanked it up, then ran my sword along the back of one leg and stabbed into the inner thigh of the other leg. The razor-sharp steel sliced a deep groove in the back of his hamstring right as an arrow struck me in the face. The only saving grace was that another arrow hit the troll in the back of the leg before I released his mail skirt. Damn thing was heavy.

I collapsed on the ground and pushed myself behind a tree, shaking from the pain. It was immediately obvious what had happened; the arrow hit me in the cheek, passed right through my mouth, and exited the other cheek. Blood poured into my mouth, and my tongue didn’t work right. It had been halfway severed.

I spat the blood out and pushed myself to my feet right as the troll swung a fist in my direction. He was too far away to hit me, but he knew I was there even if he couldn’t see me. He pulled a massive club from his belt and used it like a cane, pushing himself to his feet.

I ran for the next tree and moved behind it. Now that he was back on his feet, the troll ignored the arrows that rained down on him. Using blood magic, I focused on making him bleed out. I wasn’t sure if I had been able to stab deep enough in his one leg to hit his femoral artery, but at least it was another spot for him to lose blood from.

Red puddles formed with each step, and the troll angrily swung his club all around him. I knew from a previous experience that trolls had excellent senses of smell, but that helmet probably ruined things. I kept pushing with blood magic. It was the only thing I could do. When the troll came closer I backed away, trying my best to be silent, and to avoid any arrows. I didn’t have any armor, after all.

I spat out another mouthful of blood, and as the blood sprayed through the air I realized something. The moment it left my mouth, it became visible.

The troll saw a mouthful of blood appear out of nowhere and strike the ground. He let out a grunting roar and limped towards me.

“Ah, fuck,” I said, backing away. Mistake. The troll heard that as well.

With that, I turned and ran. There was no fighting something that size, especially out in the open. Besides, if I could get him to run, he’d bleed out faster. I looked over my shoulder and the troll did, in fact, move faster. He couldn’t really run any longer, but he tried his best to catch up to me. I swiped my sword across a bush, letting him know right where I was.

I figured something as big as a troll would have a ton of blood, so this wouldn’t be a fast process. I needed a plan, though. I turned to my left and ran back to where the other trolls were still attacking the great trees. The troll followed, moving slower every second.

“It’s about fucking time,” I said when he fell to his knees.

The arrows largely stopped at that point, so I circled around behind him. The troll’s armor was designed to deflect anything attacking from above or in front of him. I walked up behind him, looking for gaps.

I had to give it to the troll smiths, the armor was incredibly well-made. But from my vantage point, there were openings. I took the tip of my sword and slid it beneath his bell-shaped helmet, slicing a deep gash along the side of his neck. He let out a whimper of pain, then fell forwards onto the ground.

With that troll dying, I finally took some time to heal myself. Having to spit out blood every few seconds was no fun, that much was certain. Using blood magic, I forced the wounds in my cheeks to close, and my tongue pulled itself back together. One of my teeth had a chip in it, but I didn’t think there was anything I could do about that. I tried anyway.

“How am I going to get you guys to follow me?” I wondered aloud. “And how am I going to survive it? That’s the real issue.”

I walked closer to the nearest living troll. Having discarded his torch, he was now trying to climb the stairs at the base of a great tree. They were too small for him, so his arms were spread out, holding onto the massive trunk to keep his balance. It was slow going, especially with the arrows.

Using blood magic against the trolls was tough, but I tried anyway. I drained as much blood as I could from one of his legs. From where I was, I heard him shout curses and saw him stamp his foot. It wasn’t enough to stop him, but he definitely noticed.

“Hey!” I called out. At least, due to Silvy’s magic, I could speak the troll language. “Hey, you giant fat pussy! Stop trying to fuck that tree and come see the goblins if you want a real fight!”

I began backing away after that. Trolls seemed like the kind of guys that could be goaded. At least, I hoped so. But as I watched, the troll did little more than shout a few curses in my general direction.

I focused my magic on a single foot, hoping I could do more damage to a small area. After a few seconds the troll stomped his foot, trying to battle the feeling of it falling asleep.

Luck was with me that day, and his stomping weakened the wooden stairs. Well, that and the fact that he probably weighed a full ton. One of the steps splintered and cracked, dropping him to the ground.

I laughed at the top of my lungs, loud enough for him to hear me. Beyond him, I saw other trolls attacking the great trees. One of them had a massive axe and was slowly chopping away. This wasn’t going to work.

I pulled the shadow stone from my mouth so he could see me. “Hey!” I yelled. “Hey, you stupid bastard! I’m the one that killed your shaman. I’ve also killed two of your warriors so far. You’re next.”

Well, that got his attention. The troll pushed himself up to his hands and knees and looked right at me. At least, he tried to.

Using blood magic, I felt through his head and found his beady little eyes. I increased the blood pressure to his eyes as much as I could, hoping to affect his vision. The troll shook his head and swung his fists around, then clambered to his feet. Perfect.

I backed away, knowing my chances of living through this were slim and depending on me being fast.

“Grab your girlfriends and come see me in the goblin city, unless you’re a fucking coward!” I shouted as I stepped back. “I’ll make sure to tell your new king that you were too chickenshit to fight a human!”

The troll stood in place for a moment, watching me. I kept backing away, knowing I had struck a nerve when I saw him turn towards the next troll.

I slipped the shadow stone back into my mouth, turned, and ran.

28

Ihad never in my life run as hard as I did that day. I didn’t even bother looking behind me, as I knew it wouldn’t help. The trolls were coming, and it was going to be a much harder fight than we had imagined.

But I had a plan. A very nasty plan.

My heart pounded in my chest and my lungs burned like fire, but I kept running full speed back towards home. Back to Solace. Yeah, I liked that name.

Of course I had no clue what their plan had been, but I thought killing the elves had been their first goal. With their armor, they could simply ignore the arrows while burning down the trees. Honestly, it wasn’t a bad plan. After that, they’d come and kill all the goblins. And with that armor, fighting them in the tunnel wouldn’t be easy.

The mouth of the tunnel came into view and a bit of hope sprouted in my heart, giving me speed. The soldiers standing there saw me running and readied themselves, raising their spears. Leena and Tressi stood there, as well. Perfect.

Leena looked concerned, which made perfect sense as she had likely been sending messages to her father. I ran up to her and Tressi, trying to talk between panting breaths.

“Here,” I said to Tressi, passing her the shadow stone. “Use this and hide in the treeline.” I told her the rest of my plan as quickly as I could, and she nodded.

“Silvy arrived just a minute ago. My father says they’re just ignoring the arrows,” Leena said, her voice close to panic.

“He’s right,” I said. “They’re going to ignore most of our spears as well. Move, back into the tunnel. They’re coming.” I turned to the guards. “Let the trolls see you, then move into the tunnel. You won’t be able to do much with their armor.”

I turned and looked over my shoulder just in time to see a small tree crash to the ground as if a bulldozer had run over it. The trolls were there, walking quickly but not running. I figured they wouldn’t be in a hurry, not with armor like that. Not only was it heavy, but they were confident that nothing could hurt them. Why rush when you’re invulnerable?

As a group, we all backed into the mouth of the tunnel. All except Tressi, who slipped the shadow stone into her mouth and moved off to the side. I was able to follow her, just a shimmering outline, until she moved into the shadows of the trees. Once she stopped next to a bush, she all but disappeared.

A soldier passed me a spear, so I took it in both hands. We all held our spears ready, although deep down I knew the weapons were all but useless against these monsters.

“Go get Coraline,” I told Leena. “We need her or the trolls are going to break into the city.”

Leena’s eyes widened at hearing that, then she turned and ran down the tunnel.

I kept my eyes on the approaching trolls but spoke to my soldiers. “Alright, boys. We’re in for a nasty fight. I’m gonna be honest with you; these spears aren’t going to do much to them. If we can simply slow them, that’ll be enough.”

No one had any questions after that. It was just the five of us, faces grim, spears held in front of us.

The trolls formed into a semicircle around the mouth of the tunnel and grunted at each other. Of course, I understood every word.

“I’m going first,” one of them said.

“The fuck you are. You couldn’t even set a tree on fire.”

“That’s not fair, the small man killed our shaman.”

“Remember, grab some of the women. Don’t hurt them, just tie them up and bring them. King Jack wants as many as possible.”

“Can I eat some of them?”

“You can eat a few, but we need to bring some with us, or he’ll burn us.”

Wait a minute, they were trying to kidnap goblin women? What the fuck was going on? And why was their king named King Jack? Well, from what I had gathered, he was human.

“Here they come!” I said as one of the trolls bent down and peered into the tunnel.

“It’s fucking dark in there. How do they see?” the troll muttered.

“With those big eyes of theirs. They look like fucking insects,” another troll said.

The lead troll got on his hands and knees and began crawling into the tunnel. I took a few steps back and motioned for the other soldiers to do the same. A moment later, a full dozen soldiers ran up behind me, each with a spear in hand.

“Back up!” I said. “We want to get them all in the tunnel. Or at least as many as possible.”

Once the troll was inside the tunnel, he began crawling. I was shocked at how quickly he moved, and I immediately saw the problem. His armor protected him rather completely from anything we could do.

We continued backing up, and a few soldiers tried jabbing with their spears to no avail.

“Let them get further in!” I said, and we kept moving backwards.

It was hard to see past the massive troll, but I was able to make out the other trolls crawling behind him. We were a quarter of the way down the tunnel, and some of the soldiers were beginning to show fear.

“I promise, I have a plan,” I told them. “In a second we’re going to start slowing them. But we need them in the tunnel.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” they said.

The heel of my boot caught on an indentation in the ground and I nearly fell. I found that odd, as the floor of the tunnel had always been quite smooth.

“Be careful, Your Majesty!” the soldier closest to me said. “We just had those made, so we can put the butts of our spears in them to keep the trolls from advancing.”

“Good thinking,” I said. “Looks like we’ll need it.”

“Aaron, Coraline is here,” Leena said from behind me.

I risked a glance over my shoulder and saw her standing there, looking absolutely terrified. Well, I couldn’t blame her. The tunnel before me was filled with massive, heavily-armored trolls crawling into the city and I couldn’t do much to stop them.

“I’m here as well,” Silvy said.

“Tell her the plan!” I said.

Behind me, Silvy explained our plan to Coraline while the soldiers and I faced down the trolls. I couldn’t tell how many were in the tunnel, but as I peered around the troll, all I could see were more trolls. I thought, I hoped, that all of them were entering the tunnel. Once they did that, Tressi would know what to do.

“It’s okay, keep backing up,” I said. “We’re almost there. You’ll know when to start fighting them.”

“Is there going to be some kind of signal, Your Majesty?” a soldier asked. He had to yell over the sound of the grunting troll scraping his way through the tunnel.

“Trust me, you’ll know,” I said.

Only seconds after I said that, Tressi started the attack. A flash of light came from the other end of the tunnel, immediately followed by the unmistakable sound of trolls roaring in agony.

“Now!” I said and lunged forward. I rammed my spear right into the troll’s helmet, hoping to catch one of the eye holes. My spear point was far too big, though.

Next to me, soldiers all thrust their spears against the massive troll. Steel blades scraped against steel armor, and none found purchase. The troll lashed out with a massive, gauntleted hand and caught one of the spears. He snapped it like a twig. The soldier immediately recovered. A man behind him was ready with more spears, and passed them to the soldiers as needed.

“Ground your spears!” one of the soldiers shouted.

I followed their lead and planted the butt of my spear into one of the divots in the stone floor. The troll crawled closer and found himself pushing against nearly a dozen spears, all of them seeking weak points in his armor.

“Now, Coraline!” I shouted.

She stepped up behind me and I felt her pull a massive amount of magical power into herself. I couldn’t even begin to imagine holding that much.

Further down the tunnel, trolls screamed and thrashed around, but they were stuck. Thick, acrid smoke began to fill the area.

The troll in front of me swung his fist, snapping five spears like toothpicks. Soldiers immediately brought more spears and he hurriedly put them in the troll’s way, doing anything to slow his advance. It was like trying to slow a city bus with a shovel. Our efforts simply weren’t enough.

I reached out with blood magic and tried to drain as much blood as possible from his arms. After a few seconds he slowed and flexed his gauntleted hands several times, but continued moving.

“Hurry, Coraline!” I yelled.

“I’m trying, Your Majesty!” she replied.

“I’ll help!” Zia said as she joined the mix.

I could see them work, but it wasn’t fast enough. It might get the rest of the trolls, but the one in front of us would get through.

“Start behind us!” I shouted.

Coraline took a few steps back and began pulling on the tunnel walls with magic. Zia added her strength and the two moved the stone like soft clay, swelling and reshaping it. The walls closed in, substantially narrowing the tunnel. We had to press together as the tunnel shrank.

The troll noticed what was happening and shouted in rage. He swung his arms about, knocking spears aside. I tried draining blood from just that arm, but he was simply too strong. He reached out and his gauntleted hand caught on a goblin soldier’s breastplate. He yanked the small man to him and slammed him on the ground, once, twice. That was all it took and the soldier was dead.

“Move!” I shouted, meaning it for everyone.

Silvy used her magic to try to close in the walls as well, but she was much weaker than Coraline. Instead, she moved up behind me and held her hand out.

As I rammed a spear against the troll’s helmet, trying my hardest to slow him, a baseball-sized flame shot out and struck the troll right beneath his helmet. Leather and mail armor covered that area, but the heat of the flame was enough to draw his attention. He shook his head and beat at the flame with his massive hand. It bought us a few seconds, which was all we needed.

I backed into stone. Quickly glancing over my shoulder, I saw the tunnel had been narrowed to only a few feet wide. We pressed together and passed through the narrow opening, still holding our spears in front of us.

Seeing this, the troll shouted angry obscenities at us and slammed into the narrow stone opening. His heavy steel gauntlets sent chips of stone flying, but not enough to widen the opening.

“Do it,” I said.

Silvy and Coraline both sent more flames into the opening. Only seconds later, Zia sent fire into the troll as well. Coraline wasn’t particularly strong with fire, but she did her best. Silvy sent a fireball a foot in diameter through the opening and it struck the troll in the shoulder. I felt magic surge in her and the fireball stayed in place, burning the troll to a crisp.

The troll shouted and beat at the fire, but it wouldn’t go out. He scrambled backwards, trying to escape, but another troll was behind him. The women sent more fires at the second troll.

“You might want to back up,” I said to the soldiers as smoke filled the tunnel.

Leena rushed forwards, carrying a handful of damp cloth strips. She tossed them over a shoulder, then took one and tied it around Silvy’s face and mouth. As soon as she was done, she did the same for Coraline and Zia.

Leena tied a strip of damp cloth around her own face, then joined the fight. She sent a thin line of flame through the stone opening. It looked like the fire from a blowtorch, but it reached out ten or fifteen feet and incinerated anything it touched.

The women that had been working on digging our new tunnel all showed up, ready to help. Leena tossed the cloths from her shoulder at them and they all covered their faces with them.

I coughed. “Move back, give them space,” I said. “One of you help clear the air.”

A full dozen women filled the tunnel with fire. It looked like the inside of a cremator. Another woman created a gust of wind and blew it into the tunnel, forcing the smoke back and providing oxygen for the fires.

The trolls screamed as they burned to death, trapped in the tunnel. It was a hard way to die. Several soldiers turned their heads so they didn’t have to see it. Some hardened their gazes and watched until the last troll was dead. Ultimately, the trolls had come to kill us all. They got what they deserved.

Their king was next.

29

The trolls burned for nearly half an hour before Coraline and the others began moving the stone again. We focused on pushing the air out of the tunnel to keep the stench down.

“Anyone want barbeque?” I asked the nearby soldiers. Some of them laughed. A few of them looked ill.

The worst part of this wasn’t the cleanup, but having to wait to see Tressi. I assumed she was safe—she had closed off the other end of the tunnel, after all—but my heart wouldn’t slow until she was in my arms.

A man brought a bucket filled with wet cloths for us to tie around our faces. They smelled faintly of vinegar and some kind of citrus—strong smells that would help with the stench.

My wives held me tightly as we watched people clear away the mess. The trolls were a nightmare—even burned, they were still obscenely heavy. Men tried tying ropes around their ankles to pull them, but the melted ligaments in their joints came apart. The trolls had to be dragged out by their armor.

As soon as the stone walls were opened enough to pass, I let go of Leena and Silvy and pushed my way through. I used my boot to shove several charred pieces from my path, and briefly wondered if we could reuse that steel. Metal was a valuable resource. No sense in letting it go to waste.

I felt ill by the time I reached the end of the tunnel, but I counted ten burned bodies. That was all of the trolls. My heart leaped in my chest when Tressi suddenly appeared in front of me, shadow stone in hand.

I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her off the ground. She held me tightly and I spun her around a few times before finally setting her back on her feet.

“Happy to see me?” she asked.

“Words can’t even describe it, honey,” I said.

“Is it bad in there?” she asked.

I frowned. “Cleanup will take a while. We only lost one soldier. The women working on the tunnel came to help us. The trolls didn’t stand a chance.”

“That explains it,” she said. “As soon as the last troll crawled into the tunnel I started closing it. It took me a while, but they weren’t looking behind them. By the time I was done, they were so far down the tunnel I had to run into it just to set them on fire. One of them tried backing out to get to me, but I made it out in time.”

I hugged her again. “I’m just glad you’re safe.” I looked over at the tunnel, dreading passing through it again.

“Did you talk to any of them?” Tressi asked.

“Not really,” I said. “I wasn’t able to question them or anything, but I did overhear something interesting. One of the trolls mentioned kidnapping as many goblin women as possible and bringing them to their new king. King Jack, apparently that’s his name.”

“What a strange name,” Tressi said. “You humans and your strange names. Aaron, Jack.”

“We have some weird ones,” I replied. “Hobart, Mildred, Gertrude.”

She looked up at me. “Well, those sound perfectly normal.”

“Normal? Fine, I’ll name our kid Toyota Camry.”

Tressi thought for a moment. “I kind of like it. Does it mean something in your language?”

I threw my hands in the air. I would never understand goblin names.

We waited for a while, but finally passed through the tunnel again and made our way back into the city. It would take a long time to clean out the trolls and scrub the scorch marks from the walls.

“I’m hoping we can reuse the steel from their armor,” I said as we passed by. “That’s a lot of metal.”

Tressi nodded soberly. “I don’t like it, but you’re right. I suppose it depends on what is made from them, though. Build something for the military out of the troll’s armor. It’ll remind them that someone once tried to take over the city, and they failed.”

“Oh by the way, I thought of a name for the city. Solace.”

“Solace,” she said, repeating the word over and over. “I like it. I still tend to just call it home, but Solace works. Now you’ll need to think of a name for our new city.”

“Well, shit. You’re right.” I frowned at that. It had taken me six months to name Solace. Who knew what I’d call the new city. I briefly considered naming it Reykjavik, as I had always liked that name. Or Thunder Bay, although I immediately saw the issue with naming an underground city after a bay.

“By the gods that is disgusting,” Tressi said, holding her hand over her nose and mouth. We hurried through the tunnel to try to get away from the burned corpses.

Once we got to the other side of the tunnel, we found people celebrating. One of the women that had helped, a tunnel worker, ran up and kissed a soldier right on the lips. Leena and Silvy saw us and rushed to hug us. Zia was there only a moment later.

We moved further into the city to escape the smell and the noise, and then I turned to my wives.

“They wanted to kidnap goblin women and bring them back to their new king,” I said.

“But why?” Silvy asked.

“Have you seen yourself?” Leena asked her, then reached out and poked her in her massive breast.

Silvy looked down at her figure, then over at Zia. “Oh. Right.”

“So, are you going to do anything about that?” Leena asked me.

“Damn right, I am,” I said. That was something I had decided the moment the trolls set foot in the tunnel.

All four of my wives stopped and looked at me.

I shrugged. “Well, I’m going to figure out exactly who this guy is, and I’m going to kill him,” I said. “I already know he’s a human, so my blood magic should work against him. I just need to gather a team and go there.”

“You can count us in,” Zia said. Her easygoing demeanor was gone, replaced by hard eyes and a firm voice.

Tressi looked over at her, then nodded and looked back to me. “We’re all coming with you.”

“It’s not going to be safe,” I said. “We’ll be walking through the woods for half a week just to get there.”

“Uh huh,” Zia said. “And they would have kidnapped us, had they made it into the city. I don’t even want to think of what would have happened to us.”

“Well, that settles it, then,” I said. I looked around, just trying to gather my thoughts. I didn’t know if this King Jack asshole had any magical way of communicating with his trolls. I assumed he didn’t, which meant he would be expecting them home in three or four days. Instead, we’d be there.

“We’ll spend the rest of the day cleaning up and resting,” I said. “Tomorrow morning we’ll head out. I’ll grab a team of men and have someone pack us enough supplies, and we’ll be out.”

My wives nodded. They seemed eager for vengeance. Even peaceful Leena.

“How’s your father?” I asked her.

“A bit frustrated that the arrows didn’t work,” she said. “But, it’s done now. That’s what’s important. I need to tell him we’re going to kill the troll king.”

I winced. He’d probably have something to say about that. Hopefully he’d just decide to come with us, instead. I could use someone with his skill.

“So, what’s our next move?” Silvy asked. She looked ready to go.

“Back to the palace,” I said. “I need to talk to a few people and get things organized. And we need to prepare.” I looked down at my filthy clothes. “A bath would be nice. Hey, Leena. If your father decides to come with us, tell him to bring Taranath as well.”

She nodded. “I’ll send him a message right now, so Taranath has time to get ready.”

“Oh, Tela won’t like that idea,” Tressi said.

I tried to think back on tabloids about the British royal family and their titles. I generally avoided that sort of thing, but at least I remembered one important part.

“Remind her that as your sister, she’s technically a princess,” I said to Tressi.

She looked up at me. “Huh. I guess I never thought of that. What’s that got to do with anything, though?”

I shrugged. “Nothing, really, but it’ll distract her and let Taranath escape.”

Tressi laughed at that. She knew how tightly her sister held onto the elven man. The two were practically inseparable.

Leena left and walked towards the mouth of the tunnel so she could send a magical message to her father. The rest of us slowly passed through the city and made our way back to the Royal District.

“He wants to name the city Solace, by the way,” Tressi said.

“I think I like it,” Silvy added.

Zia thought for a moment, then nodded. “I like it. I suppose it’s nice having a name for our home, even if we don’t feel it needs one. Solace it is.”

30

The mood was strange as we walked back to the royal palace. Everyone was happy that the troll attack had failed, although I heard snippets of conversation as people passed by; no one expected the trolls to get as far as they did. The smell of the burned troll meat had mostly dissipated thanks to the women working with magic, but the Tunnel District still smelled like they had a barbeque festival.

There was a rush of emotion that seemed to hang over the goblins’ heads. Word of how the trolls had so easily pushed their way into the tunnel had spread like wildfire, so we walked among a people that were experiencing the overwhelming relief from their adrenaline-soaked terror, however brief it had been.

“Soooooo,” Zia asked as she reached out and slipped her hand into mine. “Now that tempers have calmed a bit, are we really going to attack the trolls and kill their king? I was ready to go a few minutes ago, but now that I think about it, it seems kind of crazy.”

“Oh, I am absolutely going there,” I told her. “He sent soldiers to force their way into my city, slaughter my people, and kidnap my women. I won’t rest until he’s dead.”

“So you’re not sleeping tonight?” she asked.

I gave her a look. “Funny.”

Zia blinked innocently at me.

“I really wish we had horses,” I said. “I know the elves don’t have them either, living up in the trees. That would make this whole thing much easier.”

On my other side, Silvy frowned. “Yes, I’m not looking forward to walking that far.”

“Same,” I said. “The orcs probably have horses, but it would take a week just to walk there, if not more. So our only choice is to walk to the troll settlement. It won’t be fun, but we’ll make the best of it. Pack lightly.”

Zia looked down at her dress. “Ugh, I can only bring like two or three of these, right?” She picked at her skirt.

I nodded.

“Well, I would say I could simply have a servant carry more for me, but she would have to carry her own stuff as well. Plus, that would be quite rude of me. And now that I think about it, dresses probably aren’t the best thing for traveling through the woods.”

“Bingo,” I said. “We’ll pack some tonight. I’ll help you. You!” I called out to a young soldier that was walking by in the other direction.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” he asked as he stopped and turned to me.

“Go and get General Rolf. Tell him I need to speak with him in the throne room as soon as I get there.”

He bowed his head. “Yes, Your Majesty.” With that, he turned and ran towards the Royal District.

Zia looked up at me, her eyes inquisitive.

“He’ll have to gather the troops,” I explained. “He knows more about that sort of thing than I do, so I’ll count on him to prepare things for us.”

“Who’s going to run the city while we’re gone?” Zia asked.

“That’s a good question,” I asked. “Silvy?”

She shook her head. “I would, but I’m the only one that knows troll magic. You need me.”

I looked at the other two. Tressi opened her mouth to say something, but it was Zia that spoke up.

“Look, I know I helped out back there, but I was absolutely terrified,” she said, sounding mildly ashamed. “The entire time, I thought my heart was going to beat its way out of my chest. When we started burning the trolls, I wanted to vomit.” She took a deep breath. “I’m not a fighter, Aaron. I simply wasn’t made for it.”

“That’s okay,” Tressi said. She reached out and squeezed Zia’s shoulder. “You stay here with Leena and run the city. Uh, Solace.”

“You’re right,” Zia said. “Plus, Leena can continue communicating with the elves. Both our cities received minimal damage—none for us, beyond the tunnel—but talking with each other can help us be stronger if anything like this comes up again.”

Tressi smiled at her. “You see? You’re a natural. Go be a queen.”

“My name means ‘warrior queen,’” Zia muttered.

“Well, be a warrior in the bedroom when Aaron gets back,” Tressi said. She leaned over and kissed her best friend on the cheek. “There is no shame in not being a fighter. None whatsoever. Silvy and I will go with Aaron, and we’ll take care of this.”

“Thank you,” Zia said, looking grateful.

“Shame I didn’t get to join the fight, Your Majesty!” one of the royal guards said as we entered the tunnel that led to the Royal District.

“You wouldn’t have enjoyed it,” I told him. “And it was the women that did all the real work.”

“So I heard,” he replied, then bowed his head. “All glory to the queens.”

“You see? You’re a war hero now,” Tressi said to Zia, who blushed.

Soldiers were everywhere in the Royal District when we arrived. There were a million things for them to take care of, and they were rushing to get it all finished. I certainly wasn’t a hard king to please, but I was glad to see everyone working so hard to keep the gears of this machine turning.

I hugged each of my wives once we got to the throne room. They left and went into the royal palace to clean up and change, and I sat and waited for the general. I didn’t have to wait long.

“I came as quickly as I could, Your Majesty,” General Rolf said as he climbed the stairs.

I pushed myself up from the throne. “Glad to see you, general. I need your help planning an attack.”

He blinked. “Who are we attacking, Your Majesty?”

“I’m taking Queens Silvy and Tressi as well as Althidon and Taranath and about a dozen of our best soldiers with me and attacking the trolls. They came here to kill us, so I plan on returning the favor.”

“Um. King Aaron, please forgive me for asking, but is that wise?”

I grinned. “Probably not. But it’s what has to be done.”

His frown remained. “Only a dozen soldiers?”

“With three or four powerful mages among us, that’s all we’ll need,” I said. “Plus, I don’t plan on assaulting their forces head on. We’re going to sneak in there and kill their king, then sow some discord in their settlement to teach them a lesson. The trolls are a menace, but it’s this King Jack that’s the real problem.”

General Rolf nodded slowly. “Well, I can’t tell you no, Your Majesty. I just want to caution you against any behavior that might wind up with your head on a pike.”

“Thanks, general. I’ll try to bring whoever is strongest with fire magic as well. That should round out our party.”

That seemed to make the general happier. “Good. Trolls hate fire, everyone knows that. It shows the kind of tight hold their new king has on them, that they were using fire against the elves. I’ll have my officers select the best men and we’ll start preparing. When do you want to attack?”

“I want to leave tomorrow morning, if possible,” I said. “I hope that’s not asking too much.”

The general frowned again, but shook his head in the affirmative. “We have some men that were already preparing to go to the new city, so they’re mostly ready. I’ll make sure they have our best spears. And one for you as well, Your Majesty.”

“Thanks. We’ll need some food, stuff that can last for several days.” I thought for a moment. “Although I guess if we’re walking through the woods, we can just forage half of our requirements. Taranath will have his bow, so he can shoot a bird or something and we can make a stew for everyone.”

“The soldiers will have a cookpot, Your Majesty. They are limited in what they can carry on foot, but my officers will ensure they have everything you’ll need.”

“Good,” I said. “Hopefully this is a good example of a situation where horses would be a huge help. Even some pack mules. I want to make sure we have some at the new city. Outside, of course.”

“Of course,” General Rolf said with a slight nod. “I will admit you make a strong point, Your Majesty. We aren’t accustomed to marching for several days to attack someone, though. We have spent the last several thousand years under the ground, minding our business for the most part.”

“Well, once we get some revenge we’ll go right back to doing that,” I told him. “Don’t worry, I don’t want to be the kind of guy that messes with every other nation. I would like to be friends with all the other nations, but I’ll leave it at that.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” he said, then hesitated. “By the way, what is a pack mule?”

I chuckled. “It’s a cross between a horse and a donkey. They’re tough animals and can carry a lot of stuff. Back in my world, militaries used them for centuries to haul supplies and food.”

He pursed his lips. “Aaaand, what exactly is a donkey? My apologies, Your Majesty.”

“None needed,” I told him. “Imagine something like a smaller horse, but with big ears and an attitude. In the world I came from, some farmers would keep donkeys just to scare away predators like wolves and coyotes.”

“Interesting,” he said. “I’m assuming a coyote is something like a wolf?”

“Yeah, close enough for this conversation. Much smaller. Man, I have a lot to teach you guys. Once we get this new city established, we’re going to explore the wilderness some. I wonder how hard it would be to open a zoo?”

“Um, a zoo?”

I laughed. “Ah, forget it. I should probably be focusing on other things. Thanks for all your help, general.”

He bowed. “Honored to serve, Your Majesty.”

With that, I left the throne room and went into the palace proper. Part of me hoped to see Alena, as I figured we could have a conversation about our current arrangement. I accepted that the goblin people, my wives included, wanted me to have a lot of children. I was fine with that. But if I slept with a woman and she became pregnant, I didn’t want her to just go back to her regular life with my bastard son in her belly. I wanted her to have some form of honored position. She would be having the king’s son, after all.

And then there was Coraline. My wives agreed she would be a good woman to have a child with. That magical talent of hers was worth passing down.

When I got to my room, I found Tressi standing in front of her wardrobe, tapping her full lips with a finger as she pondered her outfits.

“Hey, honey,” I said as I walked up behind her. I looked over her head at her clothes for a moment. “A lot of this stuff won’t work. The most important thing you need is comfortable shoes. Bring your best ones, as we’ll be walking a lot. Then, pack a couple dresses or skirts or something that you don’t mind wearing all day. Maybe some spare socks. We won’t really have room for much else.”

“What are you bringing?” she asked.

I walked over to my wardrobe and opened it. “Two pairs of pants, three shirts, my most comfortable boots, and a half-dozen socks. If I have room for anything else, it’ll probably be food or water.”

“I can pull water out of the air,” she said. “Slowly, but enough to keep us from being thirsty.”

I smiled. “You just get better and better. I had forgotten you could do that. Well, that helps a lot. Water is heavy, so not having to walk with that will be a huge help.” I frowned. “I should send a message to the general that his men won’t have to pack water.”

A knock came at the door. “Come in,” I called out.

The door opened and an older woman entered. Of course she was quite attractive and the neckline of her dress was scandalously low. That, I attributed to Zia. In her hands, she held bundles of cloth and leather. When she came closer, I realized they were packs for us.

“Here you are, Your Majesties,” she said, setting them on the bed near us. “Three packs, as requested. Is there anything else you need from me?”

“Can you tell General Rolf that his soldiers don’t need to pack water?” I said. “Tressi can get water using magic, so it’s not needed.”

She bowed her head. “Yes, Your Majesty. Right away.” And with that, she turned and left.

“Where’s Silvy?” I asked.

“Oh, she wanted to go over the details of the new city with Kord,” Tressi said. “Knowing that she’ll be gone for a week or more, she wanted to get a head start on that. She should be back soon, and we’ll help her pack.”

“Is there anything that helps you regain your magical strength more quickly?” I asked. “Like, if you use too much magic and become tired, something that will help you recover?”

Tressi frowned prettily as she thought. “I think Silvy has a tea. I’ll make sure I ask her about it.”

“Perfect,” I said. “Looks like packing for this trip will be easy. We’ll basically just be camping for a few days. Hmm, guess that means we need tents.”

“We have bedrolls,” Tressi said.

“Alright, let’s just hope it doesn’t rain!” I said.

31

One thing I had told myself when I became king was that I wasn’t going to wake up early for anyone or anything. That was a hard rule for me. Not to be a dick or anything, I just hated losing sleep. If something needed to be done, it could wait until I woke. It made me glad that the goblins as a whole weren’t really morning people

Fortunately, I wasn’t a late sleeper like Zia. We still didn’t have clocks, but I woke up somewhere around seven in the morning from what I guessed, and then immediately went to the hot springs. I wouldn’t be able to bathe for a week, so getting clean now was important.

The hot springs were still relatively empty that early, so I got to enjoy a bath without anyone staring. At least, until Alena showed up.

“I saw you leave and hurried here as quickly as I could, Your Majesty,” she said, breathing hard. She set a pile of clothes next to the spring I was in, then noticed I had already brought some.

“I’m leaving this morning,” I told her. “Me, Tressi and Silvy, and a dozen guards. We’re going to kill this new troll king.”

Her face paled. “Please stay safe, Your Majesty.”

“If you call me that one more time, I’ll let a troll step on me on purpose,” I told her.

The fear in her expression melted and was replaced by a warm smile. “Okay, Aaron. Well, just the same. Please be careful.”

I opened my mouth to tell her I was always careful, but then thought about it. Looking back at some of the things I had done, I probably had a reputation for being rather reckless. Well, this would only add to that, but it was something that had to be done.

“What do you think of the name James?” I asked her.

“James, James,” she repeated the name several times, testing it out. “It sounds foreign. I like it. What does it mean?”

“He was a musician back in my world,” I said. “One of my favorites. I’ve been trying to think of names since I woke up this morning.”

Alena smiled at me. “Thank you for thinking of me, Aaron.” She rubbed her hand on her stomach. “Or I suppose I should say us.”

I laughed. “You might want to wait until you know you’re pregnant before doing that too much.”

She met my gaze. “Well, then I suppose you should make sure I’m pregnant.”

Before I could say anything, she pulled on the laces of her dress and it practically fell off. Of course, it barely covered her curves anyways, so that made things easier. She took a little hop and landed in the pool of hot water right next to me.

“Guess I can’t say no to that,” I said, wiping water from my face.

Alena splashed right up to me and wrapped her arms behind my neck. With a big smile, her lips found mine and we kissed. While those massive breasts of hers made her rather buoyant, I reached down and grabbed her by the ass, holding her close to me. My tongue pressed into her mouth as she reached a hand down between us, grabbing onto me.

I was rock-hard in a heartbeat, and she worked me inside her. Of course, a hot spring was a horrible place to have sex. It was one of those places that seemed like a lot of fun when you saw it in a movie, but the reality was that it washed away her natural lubrication and any amount of thrusting resulted in water splashing me in the face. It only took about ten seconds for me to lift her out of the water and set her on the stone floor next to the pool.

She arranged the towels on the rock, then laid on her back. By the time I got out of the hot water, her thighs were already spread and she reached out for me, eager for my body.

“Hurry up and get inside me,” she said.

“Are we running out of time or something?” I asked with a chuckle.

“If you take any longer I’ll just knock you down and ride you,” she said. I started to laugh, but realized she was serious.

As I positioned myself on top of her, I reached down and slipped myself inside warm heaven. Alena let out a moan of pure bliss as I pushed myself all the way inside her. I didn’t have a lot of time that morning so I got right to thrusting. I watched in amazement as her massive breasts bounced to the rhythm of our lovemaking.

“Oh, Aaron!” Alena called out, uncaring if anyone could hear us. Her eyes were squeezed shut and she focused on the sensations she was experiencing.

She was so into it that I wished we had more time to really do things right, but I had to focus on just pounding her. My hips rocked back and forth and I slammed my cock into her over and over, and she moved with me, accepting every inch and shouting for me.

I reached down and grabbed on one of her huge breasts, giving it a squeeze. My fingers pinched her nipple, which brought a big smile and a loud moan from her.

“Squeeze it,” she said, falling into the mood. “Squeeze that tit and fuck me good, King Aaron!”

I blinked. She hadn’t been particularly vocal the last time we did this, and definitely never said anything like that. I wasn’t much of a talker during sex. I always felt awkward. It appeared Alena was the opposite.

“Fuck that pussy good,” she said, finally opening her eyes. She reached out and took my face in her hands, pulling it down to hers for a deep, wet kiss. “You fuck my pussy and fill it with cum.”

“Sure thing,” I said, and immediately cursed myself for saying that. Sure thing? Really? At least I didn’t high five her.

I bent down to suck on her nipple and my hand slid down her side. It was a bit difficult with her being only four feet tall, but I managed. Her hand was suddenly on mine, pushing my hand further down. My hand continued moving down her body, past her hip, then I reached around and grabbed her ass.

“Oh, yes!” she called out, tossing her hair. “I love it when you squeeze my ass.”

I used my grip on her to pull her body to mine with every thrust. At that pace, it didn’t take me long to reach the point of no return. My hand squeezed her ass hard enough that I was afraid I might have bruised it, and my entire body tensed up.

“Yes!” Alena shouted. “Cum inside me, King Aaron!”

I let out a wordless shout as I unloaded deep inside her. Alena wrapped her arms around me, holding me tightly against her while shouting some mess of profanity that mostly involved the words “fuck” and “cum.”

“Oh, that was amazing,” she said, kissing me. “We have to do that again. You can get me pregnant as many times as you want. Please, just keep fucking me.”

I looked down at her massive breasts, gently moving as she rolled around. To call that tempting was the understatement of the year.

Instead of collapsing on her, I returned her kisses with equal passion, then kissed my way down her neck and to those incredible breasts of hers. After spending some time there, I slid off her and hopped back into the hot spring to clean myself off.

Alena stayed on her back and pulled her knees to her chest. Her face was positively glowing. “Thank you, Aaron,” she said, smiling at me.

“Hey, anytime,” I said, because I was a master with words.

After a minute, Alena finally moved. She crawled across the stone floor and got into the hot pool with me. Rather than her usual kisses and hugs, she seemed full of happiness and laughter after our sexual episode. She reached out to me, her hand held up. It took me a moment to realize she was high-fiving me.

“How are you real?” I asked her. From the look she gave me, I don’t think she understood.

Instead, she ran her hands over me as if washing me. They went south and she gently cleaned both my balls and shaft.

"The royal penis is clean, Your Majesty," she said with a grin.

I just laughed and wrapped my arms around her.

“When are you leaving?” she asked.

“As soon as everyone is ready,” I told her. “So, that being said, I should probably get dressed.”

I pulled myself out of the pool of hot water, yelping when Alena slapped me on my bare ass. I hadn’t been expecting that. Looking back, I found her grinning at me.

“You are a gem, Alena,” I said.

She crawled out of the pool after me and stepped close. “And you get to fuck me absolutely whenever you want,” she said as if finishing my prior statement.

Wow. Somehow, her saying that made me feel even more like a king. I grabbed my towel but she suddenly snatched it from my hands and began drying me off. I just let her do it, although at least I made sure to return the favor. Had I more time, we probably would have wound up going at it a second time. She was oddly insatiable that morning, and so was I.

“Alright, get going, you,” I said, slapping her on her bottom. “I need to get some things done.”

“You already got one thing done,” she said under her breath, then shot me a grin.

I had seen women strip before, but she somehow managed to pull her clothes on in the most seductive way imaginable. It was…interesting.

It also made me realize what I was fighting for. The trolls had orders to kidnap women and bring them to King Jack. While they would probably have just grabbed whoever they could, had they seen a woman like Alena or any one of my wives they would have absolutely gone for her.

Alena left before me and said she would have breakfast prepared. A moment later I was dressed, and walked back to the Royal District.

As I approached the stairs that led to the throne room, a soldier ran up to me.

“Your Majesty!” he said, saluting. “General Rolf wanted me to tell you that the soldiers are ready to go. They’re heading to the tunnel right now to wait for you.”

“Thanks,” I told him, and kept walking to the stairs.

When I got to the royal palace, I went straight to the dining room. I trusted that Silvy and Tressi would be up and ready on time. When I got there, Alena was just setting a platter in front of my chair.

“Hot and ready for you, Aaron. Let me know if you want some dessert,” she added with a wink.

At that moment the door opened and Silvy and Tressi walked in. They both wore surprisingly plain clothes for being queens—their cloaks were still a mess of embroidery and thread-of-gold, but their skirts and boots were relatively plain. Well, good. Lace and the forest weren’t a good match.

“Ready?” I asked them as they sat down.

“As ready as I can be,” Silvy said. “I am dreading that walk, I won’t lie.”

“Yeah, I’m not looking forward to it either,” Tressi said. She dug into her breakfast like she hadn’t eaten in a day.

After breakfast we went back to our bedchambers. I had packed the night before, so I was as ready as could be. I fastened my sword belt around my waist, grabbed my pack, and then helped my wives. Once we were all ready, we left the royal palace.

We ran into Leena and Zia on the way out. The five of us practically covered each other with hugs and kisses. Leena and Silvy enjoyed a particularly passionate kiss. I half expected them to go back to the bedchamber for a few minutes, but Silvy finally released her wife and we left.

“I talked to our magic-users and selected the strongest one with fire,” Zia said. “She should be waiting for you guys at the mouth of the tunnel along with the soldiers.”

“Perfect, thanks,” I said.

I made sure I had the shadow stone in my pocket. I never went anywhere without that.

Things felt a bit surreal as we walked through Solace towards the tunnel. A little over six months ago I was just writing boring reports for a living, basically wasting my existence in a shitty apartment in a shitty city.

Now I was a king with multiple wives and I was leading a small force to attack a troll settlement and kill their leader. Oh, and I knew magic. Couldn’t forget that.

I didn’t even have the words to describe it.

32

Her name was Gallu. She was a bit shorter than Tressi but was otherwise built the same. What was most interesting about her wasn’t that incredible figure, or even her adorable face. It was her hair. Her hair was red. And not crayon red, but like born and raised in Scotland red. She was the only goblin woman I had ever seen with hair that color.

Well, the color of her hair was appropriate, as she was the strongest woman with fire magic in the entire city, and by a long shot. It made me wish we had her for the troll attack, but she had been recovering at that moment.

“Honored to serve you, Your Majesties,” she said as she bobbed a curtsey.

“We’re glad to have you with us,” Silvy said, always the professional one.

Tressi on the other hand, walked right up to her and ran her fingers through Gallu’s hair. “This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” she said while Gallu blushed. “Oh, this is amazing. And you’re so strong with fire magic, too!” She shot me a look, and I immediately knew what she was thinking.

Well, if she wanted me to help create more redhead goblins that were strong with fire magic, so be it. I’d do it with a smile. I looked over at Gallu’s curvy body, barely contained in her dress. A big smile, indeed.

Althidon and Taranath were there as well. The jovial elven archer hadn’t brought his guitar, but fortunately he did have his bow, with a full quiver peeking over his shoulder. Althidon wore a cloak of mottled green that blended in with his surroundings. I blinked a few times when I realized it wasn’t just the color doing that. His cloak actually faded into the background, and was a bit uncomfortable to look at. It made him look like just a disembodied head floating around.

“Well, good morning King Aaron!” Taranath said, clapping me on the shoulder when I came near. “You ready to kill a troll king?”

I gave him a smile. “I guess it doesn’t matter if I’m ready or not; that’s what I’m going to do.”

“That’s the spirit,” Taranath said, patting me on the back. “With that kind of positive thinking, we’ll be unstoppable. Should we clear out the harpy nests when we’re done?”

“Oh stop, you,” Tressi said, but she smiled at him.

“Let’s hope this adventure of yours goes better than the last one did,” Althidon said with a hint of a grin.

“Yes,” Taranath agreed. “And hopefully I don’t get hit with an arrow this time. I still have nightmares about that.”

“The rest of us have nightmares about your singing,” Althidon said.

“You packed light,” I said, noting how small their packs was.

Taranath smiled and tapped his temple. “Because I used this, my friend. You have tents and bedrolls, but we have magic.”

“How is my sister taking this?” Tressi asked.

Taranath straightened up and his jolly mood faded a bit. “She’s not happy about it, but she understands. She was with me when the trolls attacked, so she was able to see them completely ignore our arrows. She also managed to see a certain reckless human attack them, then run away.” He gave me a look.

I shrugged. “I had to, or else they would have burned your trees down.”

“Yes, we do owe you, my friend,” Taranath said.

“He’s right,” Althidon added. “A lot of us saw you suddenly appear out of nowhere, shouting at the trolls in their own language. That impressed a lot of people. I think it was clear you were cursing at them.”

“Yeah, trying to get them to follow me back to Solace,” I said.

“Well, if nothing else you proved that you’ve got a spine. Maybe not a brain, but definitely a spine.” He grinned to take any possible sting out of the words.

“Everyone ready?” I asked the group. We were eighteen strong, and together we were going to topple the troll kingdom. Granted, it would only take killing one man, and I’d handle that.

“Ready as can be, Your Majesty,” said one of the soldiers. Three chevrons on his sleeve marked him as a sergeant, at least I thought. I still wasn’t completely solid on our ranking system.

Each of the soldiers had a large pack on their backs, bulging with clothes, food, probably water even though I said not to, and a bedroll wrapped at the top. The soldiers were all incredibly fit and looked like they could walk all day without getting tired. As their king, I just wanted to make sure I set a good example. Even being taller, I’d have my work cut out for me, outdoing them. Of course, I had the women to think about as well.

Fortunately the spear worked as a walking stick. Unfortunately I had my sword belted on, so I had to be careful or it would bang against my leg with every step. Well, I suppose there were worse things.

“Alright, let’s go,” I said, and set off.

I wanted to get there quickly, but I had to be realistic about the pace that I set. Silvy was probably the slowest of the lot—not only was she four feet tall, but she hadn’t done a ton of walking in the months since I had known her.

We walked in a loose formation, with me, the elves, and the women in the center and the soldiers in a rough circle around us. Each soldier had orders to quickly grab food if they came across any fruit trees or bushes. Since we didn’t pack much food, that was important.

Silvy walked next to me, holding onto my arm. I let her set the pace, but didn’t tell her that. If she found out I was taking it easy on her, she’d probably snap my head off. I looked down and smiled lovingly at her, then again when I noticed her breasts moving with each step. No wonder running was hard for her.

She looked up at me and returned my smile, then noticed where my gaze had fallen. “Oh, you are insatiable,” she said, slapping my arm. “Tonight, though. It’s been a while for me,” she added in a softer voice.

I patted her hand with mine and tried not to get a boner at the thought of being with her. I didn’t play favorites, but Silvy was special. She always would be.

“So, what’s your plan?” Althidon asked as he fell in step beside me.

“Pretty simple,” I replied. “We get close, quietly killing anything that gets in our way, and figure out where the troll king lives. I have a feeling they don’t live in a city with high stone walls surrounding it, so that shouldn’t be too hard. Once we find him, I’ll use the shadow stone, slip in unnoticed, and kill him. Then we can be on our way.”

“That’s it?” Althidon asked.

“Well, we’ll set fire to some things on our way out,” I said. “That’s one of the main reasons for Gallu coming with us. We’ll teach them a lesson for attacking Solace by killing some more of their warriors.”

Althidon nodded. “Good. The trolls respect strength and little else. And they see violence as strength. If you tried to reason with them, they would laugh, then step on you. But killing some of them will make them back down. The more you kill, the longer they’ll back down.”

“And getting rid of this king will help, too,” I said. “He was the driving force behind their attack.”

“Yes, so I’ve heard.” Althidon rubbed his chin. “How is my daughter? She told me she’s fine, but I wanted to hear it from you. Even if she lost a leg she probably wouldn’t tell me. I think she just doesn’t want me to worry, but I’m her father, so of course I do.”

“She’s fine,” I said. “Her and Zia are running the city while we’re gone.”

“Good,” he said. “I’m glad she isn’t trying any of this hero bullshit.” He looked over at me. “Eh, no offense. This type of thing just isn’t for her.”

“She’s more capable than you think,” I told him. “But you’re her father, so I understand.” I sighed. “I guess I’ll get to experience the same thing soon.”

Althidon barked a laugh and slapped me on the back. “Ah yes, the goblin king takes many wives and sires many children! That has always been their way. What are you up to now? Do I have any grandchildren on the horizon?”

“One, possibly two,” I said. “I think Leena wants to wait a bit. As for the rest….” I looked over and saw Tressi and Silvy walking with Gallu. From the way they smiled and talked, it looked like they were learning everything about her they could. It also looked like they approved. Tressi saw me looking at them and flashed me a smile that spoke volumes.

“So, the goblin tradition is that the king is often the strongest, so he selects the best and most beautiful women to have children with,” I explained. “And it goes beyond just my wives, which is something I’m still getting used to. Before you punch me, Leena understands and approves of this as well.”

“Interesting,” he said in a flat voice. “Explain.”

“There was a woman that helped us when the goblins attacked. Not only is she beautiful, but she’s incredibly strong with magic, specifically moving stone. The goblins want that sort of trait to live on, so my wives want me to have a child with her. Do you see the way they’re talking with Gallu over there?”

“I do,” Althidon said.

“She’s the strongest goblin woman with fire magic in our entire city, and the only one with red hair. Those are two important things, although the magic more so. I can tell by the way Tressi is talking to her that she wants me to have a child with Gallu.”

“To make your people stronger,” Althidon said, showing he was following my explanation.

“Exactly,” I said. “They’ve been doing that for a thousand years, and it’s the reason the men are so fierce and the women are so beautiful. They have literally been bred that way. As king, I am expected to continue that tradition.”

“Well, I see their point,” Althidon said after a moment. “Different cultures, different values. I don’t know if I envy you or feel sorry for you.”

I laughed. “Oh don’t worry, I understand exactly what you mean."

We kept walking for hours, passing through the forest. The massive great trees provided enough shade that the undergrowth wasn’t too dense, and they kept us from getting sunburns. They seemed to go on for as far as I could see in every direction.

“I didn’t realize there were so many great trees,” I said.

“More than we can count,” Althidon replied. “We focus on a few dozen of them, where our city has been built, but we do send people out every month or so to take care of the rest.”

“Take care?” I asked.

“They use magic to keep the trees healthy,” Taranath added. “We might expand that far one day. Plus, it’s part of our agreement with the trees. They provide us with almost everything we need. In return, we take care of them, all of them. Here you go.” He handed me something that looked like a plum.

“Thanks,” I said, taking the fruit. I examined it for a moment, then took a bite. It tasted rather like a plum, just less tart. “Hey, this is pretty good.”

“I found it in a pile of wolf droppings,” Taranath replied. “It’s still intact, so I guess they don’t like fruit.”

I spat out my mouthful.

“Oh, I’m just kidding. I wouldn’t do that,” he said. Both he and Althidon broke out into laughter. One of the soldiers overheard, and laughed as well.

“Okay, you got me,” I said, and continued eating it.

“Just doing my best to keep this trip from being boring,” Taranath said, wiggling his eyebrows.

33

It was hard to tell time with the canopy of trees blocking the sun, but sometime around midday we stopped for lunch.

One of the soldiers had a small cookpot on his pack, and another had taken a rabbit through the chest with an arrow. I congratulated him on the shot—hitting a rabbit with an arrow while we walked was not an easy thing. Combined with some foraged vegetables and herbs, it made for a rather tasty lunch.

Tressi used magic to pull enough water from the air to fill the small cookpot. Silvy nodded approvingly and set to showing her a way to make the action more efficient. Gallu used fire magic to get the pot boiling. It only took her a few seconds, and I was half-afraid the pot would split due to the heat.

We sat around and chatted while the stew cooked. Tressi positioned Gallu right next to me, with her on the other side. Silvy sat on my right.

“So, how old are you again?” Tressi asked.

“Twenty-four, Your Majesty,” she said.

“Oh, that’s a nice age,” Tressi said, glancing at me. “And I have to say again, your hair is just beautiful. I wish more of us had red hair.” Again that look.

I struggled not to laugh at how blatant she was. I looked over at Silvy and found her on the verge of laughter as well.

“I love you, honey,” I said quietly as I leaned over and kissed Silvy. She leaned her head on my shoulder for a moment and I put my arm around her.

“Yeah, redheads are great,” I said. “Not as rare with my people, but still uncommon. There were a couple countries rather famous for having a lot of them. The women in particular were always seen as especially beautiful.”

“Isn’t Gallu beautiful, Aaron?” Tressi asked. Next to me, I heard Silvy snicker.

“You absolutely are,” I said, looking down at her. Her eyes were bright green, too. She was the perfect redhead. Just, you know, a goblin.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” she said. She blushed to her hairline, but held my gaze.

I looked up at Tressi and she gave me a nod of encouragement. I couldn’t help it, I burst out laughing.

“Is everything okay, Your Majesty?” Gallu asked, suddenly acting very uncomfortable and self-conscious.

“No, everything is absolutely fine,” I told her. “Me struggling to get used to goblin culture is good for a laugh sometimes though.”

Her tension melted and she smiled up at me.

I took a good look at her. Goblins tended to have wider faces, but hers avoided any sort of chubbiness. The green of her skin was a bit paler than others, especially Tressi. Her dress covered a bit more of her than what my wives wore, but I still got a great view of cleavage.

When I looked back at her face, she wasn’t looking at me like some creep that was checking her out. She looked excited, almost expectant, as if she truly enjoyed me staring at her knockers. That certainly made me feel better.

“Gallu, you are really beautiful,” I said. “And especially with your hair and you being so strong with magic, I think those are things that should continue on among the goblin people. Do you want to have a child with me?” Wow, that felt awkward to ask.

“Oh, I would love to, King Aaron!” she said, reaching out and grabbing my arm. She released me almost immediately and apologized.

I smiled at her. “If we’re going to have a child together, you don’t have to worry about grabbing my arm. We’ll both be grabbing a lot more than that.”

“Thank you,” she said, and smiled at me again. She had a dimple on her left cheek when she smiled. Fucking adorable.

“See, was that so hard?” Tressi asked.

I just rolled my eyes.

That done, Tressi went back to talking with Gallu while one of the soldiers dished out the stew to each of us. Fortunately, another one of them had brought a set of stackable bowls and spoons.

“I find myself wanting some bread with this,” I said as I ate my portion of the stew.

“Why Aaron, you almost sound like a goblin,” Silvy said with a grin that held a mountain of sarcasm.

“Yeah, I guess I’m getting used to that,” I said.

When we were done, Tressi used magic to gather enough water to clean things up. That made the soldiers happy—they were used to washing their gear with their own water, or if they were lucky, finding a stream.

We set out again, traveling east. Silvy talked with Gallu, training her with magic and seeing what else she was capable of. Tressi held my hand for a while, while Althidon talked with Taranath.

“Are you feeling more comfortable with the idea of fathering an entire generation?” Tressi asked.

“Maybe not a generation,” I said. “But I’m sure I’ll have a dozen or so.”

Tressi scoffed. “A dozen? Oh, Aaron. If you think you’re getting off that easy, you’ve got another thought coming.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes,” she said firmly. “I love children, Aaron. I would like a few myself, and I love the thought of helping Silvy, Zia, and Leena raise their children. And, for that matter, I’ll be glad to see Alena’s child, and Coraline’s and Gallu’s. You know Alena wants a lot of children, right?”

“Yeah, she said something to that nature,” I said.

“Well, you’d better get to it, then. You have responsibilities.”

“Eh, we did this morning,” I said. “At the hot springs. Doing it in the water simply didn’t work, so we did it right next to the pool. She told me I could get her pregnant as many times as I wanted.”

“Good,” Tressi said, squeezing my hand. “Uh, I know what Zia means now. Hearing you talk about this is getting me worked up.” She looked up at me. “I am so wet right now. I wish you could feel it.”

“Is it time to stop for the day?” I asked, looking around. “Well, shit. Looks like we have a few hours.”

“I know what you’re doing tonight,” Tressi said.

“I think Silvy already claimed me for the night,” I told her.

Tressi looked over at her wife. “Well, fortunately we can both join in. Maybe we’ll all have some fun tonight.”

I smiled and struggled not to laugh. Even in the woods, my wives took great care of me.

An hour later a soldier halted our group, as he saw troll boot prints. Their sergeant stepped up and let us know that everything was okay. The tracks were old; probably the troll warriors that had come to attack our city.

Later in the day, I noticed a line of sweat running down the side of Silvy’s face. We weren’t going particularly fast, so that concerned me.

“Queen Silvy,” I called out. “Come here. Your king needs you.”

I had never spoken to her in that manner before, so I wasn’t even remotely surprised when she gave me that are-you-fucking-serious look. She was good at that look.

“One moment, dear. I need to go teach the king some manners,” Silvy said to Gallu. She walked up to me, hands on her ample hips. “And just what does my precious king need?”

“Hey, soldiers!” I called out. The nearest soldier ran over to me, and I handed him my spear. “Hold that for a little bit, please.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” he replied, and went back to his spot on the perimeter of our formation.

“Aaron?” Silvy asked.

“This is what I needed,” I said, and reached down and scooped her up in my arms.

Silvy yelped as I picked her up. Even with her pack on, she wasn’t that heavy, especially when I held her close to my chest. Tressi and Gallu both laughed when they saw us.

“You put me down this instant, before—”

I cut Silvy off. “Hey, you’re pregnant and I noticed you sweating. No one else is sweating. I just want to make sure you're okay.”

“The weather is warm today,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me.

“Well, either way I’m going to carry you for a bit,” I said. “So you can just deal with it.”

Silvy shifted around a bit in my arms and got comfortable. Of course my eyes immediately dropped to her massive breasts, and I grinned like a kid in a candy store. She just crossed her arms and looked at me.

“Help me out a little?” I asked. “Hold onto me.”

“I suppose,” she said.

She reached out with both arms and wrapped them behind my neck. That helped take some of the weight off my lower back, with the added bonus of putting her face very close to mine. I bent my head down and kissed her softly, somehow managing to do that without tripping.

“I love you, Silvy,” I told her.

“I love you too, Aaron,” she said, slowly smiling at me.

“You said it’s a boy, right?” I asked.

“Yes. I’m almost completely certain.”

“I think we should name him Magnus,” I said. “I’ve always liked that name.”

She said the name a few times, then nodded. “I like it. It sounds strong.” She leaned her head against my shoulder. “Thank you, Aaron.”

“Of course, honey,” I said, and kissed her on the cheek.

I carried her for as long as I could, which was a surprising distance. With Silvy holding onto me, that helped keep the center of gravity more central, so I didn’t have to lean back against her weight. I definitely worked up a sweat and got my blood moving, but I carried her for a good hour before setting her back down. If nothing else, sometimes it just felt good to impress her.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “Now you’re the one sweating. Do you need a break?”

“Nah, I’m fine,” I said, waving it away. I made sure to breathe slowly and calmly, even though my heart pounded in my chest. She wasn’t a heavy woman at all, but an hour was a long time to carry someone. My arms felt like jello after that.

“Well, I certainly feel better. Thank you, Aaron,” Silvy said.

Well, at least I knew I’d sleep well that night. Although then I remember what my wives wanted to do with me once we stopped. I had to save some energy for that, somehow.

We walked for another few hours, making good progress. The hour break did Silvy a lot of good, and she still had energy left when we stopped for dinner.

Dinner was essentially the same as lunch. It was fortunate I had grown used to stew and soup, as that was what we’d be eating for the next few days. No one had been able to get any game with their bow, so dinner was vegetarian.

After that, I made the decision to continue for another two hours. There was still plenty of daylight left and I wanted to cover as much ground as possible. We could slow down some when we were closer to the troll settlement if need be.

As the shadows grew long, we finally stopped for the day.

34

We made it quite the distance that first day. I was no judge of distance, but Althidon said we had traveled at least twenty miles. Well, that explained the ache in my back and why everyone grumbled about their feet.

We found a large clearing that was relatively free of undergrowth and set up camp there. My wives and I set our packs down and began unrolling our bedrolls while I wondered how we would arrange our tent. We each had a small tent, just a square of heavy cloth large enough for one person. The sides could be laced together to make a larger one, and if Gallu joined us, which I knew she would, our tents together would make something large enough to be comfortable.

As I messed with our tent pieces, I looked over and watched Althidon and Taranath for a moment. Each of them held what looked suspiciously like a magic wand, and they spoke in the language of magic. Even though my gift with languages was magical, I couldn’t understand them.

They had set up between the bases of two small trees, which now moved. Branches twisted and rotated around the main trunk until the two men sat beneath a thick canopy of leaves. They continued their magic and some of the branches lengthened and bent downward, providing some semblance of walls for them.

In the end it looked like a crude square hut made from leaves and branches. It was the most incredible thing I had ever seen. I had been watching them so intently I hadn’t even realized ten minutes had passed. Well, that made sense. Trees moving wouldn’t be a fast thing.

“I wish I could learn some of that,” Silvy said, pulling my section of tent from my hands.

“You mean you can’t?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Elven magic is especially difficult for non-elves. Using some of my magical items, I have access to the barest minimum of elven magic. What they just did, however, is not something I can learn.”

“Good thing we have Leena, then,” I said.

“For several reasons,” she replied.

“How are things going between you two?” I asked her. “I don’t think I check on you two enough.”

“Probably because you don’t need to,” Silvy said. “Leena is wonderful, and she loves me. She is very attentive to my needs and cares for me in a way that only a woman could.” She looked up at me. “Of course I mean no offense when I say that. I love you dearly, Aaron. You’re everything to me. But in the end, you’re a man, so you love differently than a woman. One isn’t better than the other, they’re just…different.”

“Just don’t leave me for her, okay?” I joked.

“Oh, Aaron. There isn’t a thing in this world that could make me leave you,” Silvy said. She took a moment to hug me tightly before going back to lacing our tent pieces together.

Tressi walked up with Gallu next to her. “Hey, Aaron. Gallu is going to—”

“I already figured she would,” I said, cutting her off. “And I think that sounds great. Besides, then we have four tent pieces so we can make a bigger tent.”

Gallu flashed me a smile. “I’m glad I can help, Your Majesty.”

Tressi had the soldier with the cookpot bring it to the center of the camp, and she pulled water from the air to fill it. We took turns using the water to wash our faces and hands, and she refilled it several times to keep it clean. Her being able to just produce water from air was a huge help. I tried to think of how much water nearly twenty people would have to carry with them. She was a huge asset to our party. Gallu proved her worth by gently heating the water for me with a smile.

When I got back to our tent, Silvy had arranged our bedrolls together, creating a place large enough for all of us to sleep in comfort. Tressi handed me a small wineskin and I gladly took a sip from it.

“You brought elven wine all the way out here?” I asked.

“It’s Taranath’s wine,” she replied.

“Ah, is this more of that wine he keeps piling on your parents?”

Tressi laughed. “Yeah. I think I have a lifetime’s supply of this stuff now.” She hefted the wine skin. “At least we have enough to make our trip a bit more enjoyable.”

“Isn’t it going to get warm, though?” I asked. I didn’t know a ton about wine, but I knew warm wine was no good.

“Silvy has some way to take care of that with magic,” she said. I reached out and touched the wine skin again, this time actually paying attention. It was cool, almost as if it had been in a refrigerator.

“You never cease to amaze me, Silvy,” I said.

She gave me a smile. “I know.” With a wink, she turned and continued setting up our tent.

I made a note to thank the general or whoever was responsible for our setup. The spears were the perfect length to use as tent poles, and we laid the laced-together tent pieces on them. Only a few pieces were missing from the frame, and the soldiers had them—it was some strange setup with folding poles and brackets. I didn’t understand it, but it was portable and efficient. The end result certainly wouldn’t survive a windstorm, but it would keep us dry and give us some privacy.

Which was exactly what I needed that night. As soon as we climbed into the tent, Silvy made her intentions clear, no matter who else was around or who heard. She was on me before the other women even entered the tent.

She pulled at my clothes, nearly tearing them off in her efforts to undress me. Silvy barely even bothered with her clothes—as soon as I was naked, she pushed me onto the bedroll and straddled me. She hoisted her dress up to her hips and sat down on my lap.

“I’ve wanted this for days,” she told me. “You’re going to fuck me good and hard, no matter what. I don’t care if Ralcor comes back from the dead and watches us with the new troll king sitting by his side.”

“Well, who am I to say no to that?” I asked.

I reached down and grabbed my shaft right as she took hold of the tip. She was already soaking wet, so her sinking down was a process that took only a few seconds. The moment she had taken all of me she sat there and let out a moan of pure happiness.

Tressi entered at that moment, with Gallu right behind her. Of course Gallu immediately blushed and looked like she wanted to be anywhere else, but Tressi clapped her hands excitedly.

“Silvy, honey, take this thing off,” Tressi said, pulling on Silvy’s dress. She unlaced the bodice, then pointed over at Gallu. “You get this side, I’ll get the other.” Together, they pulled Silvy’s dress off over her head.

Her dress tugging and then releasing her massive breasts made them bounce in a way that brought so much joy into my life. I immediately reached out and grabbed onto those huge things, squeezing them and using them to pull her closer to me. We kissed, the kind of kissing I was used to with Silvy; she practically tried to choke me with her tongue. One of my hands squeezed her breast and the other slid down to grab a handful of ass. I was in heaven.

“Give it to her, Aaron,” Tressi said. She leaned forward and placed a kiss on Silvy’s shoulder, then reached out and grabbed onto the breast that I wasn’t playing with and put her lips right on the nipple. Silvy responded with a loud moan.

All this time, Gallu stood by the entrance to the tent, looking uncomfortable and out of place. Tressi noticed this as well and called out to her.

“Gallu, you can take your dress off and join if you’d like.”

Gallu looked at me, then watched Silvy ride me for a moment. She looked back at Tressi. “Are you sure it’s alright?”

“Get over here before I tear your dress off myself,” Tressi said, smiling so it didn’t sound like a threat.

Tressi leaned back and began unlacing her dress while Gallu did the same. I tried to watch Gallu undress—if I was going to have a kid with her, I wanted to see her, after all—but it was hard to focus on anything other than Silvy’s massive tits in my face. Why bother?

I stretched my head forward and just enjoyed being smothered with those massive melons. Silvy laughed and pressed both of her breasts against my face and I tried my best to nibble and suck on each nipple at the same time. It was impossible, but it sure was a lot of fun to try.

Silvy riding me with her breasts in my face was almost enough to send me over the edge right there, so I had to take a deep breath and slow down. Her being pregnant somehow enhanced things; it tickled some primal part deep in my brain, knowing that she carried my son. My progeny. My heir.

“Are you going to let me have some of that, Silvy?” Tressi asked. She ran her hands up Silvy’s side, gently caressing her.

“I’ve been waiting for days for this,” Silvy said, and began working her hips up and down, even harder than before.

Well, there was no lasting when Silvy wanted me to get off. The feeling of her petite yet incredibly voluptuous body pressed against me, her hot, wet pussy, her tits in my face, her round ass in my hands…. It was just too much.

I squeezed her ass with both hands as I orgasmed. I came so hard inside her I half expected to see it come out of her ears.

“Yes!” Silvy said when she heard me moaning. “That’s what I’ve been craving!” She rode me so hard and fast I thought she was trying to break my hip. When I was done she gyrated on me, working the last drops out of me, driving me absolutely nuts. She kept grinding on my lap until I was completely soft and spent.

“I think everyone within half a mile heard you cum,” Tressi said, bending down to kiss me on the cheek.

“Good,” I said, breathing hard. Good lord, that had been one of the hardest orgasms I’d had in a long, long time.

Silvy laid against my chest, kissing my jaw and my neck lovingly. “Thank you,” she said, gently working her hips around. She squeezed her pelvic floor muscles, clamping down on me like a fist. “Mine,” she said.

I couldn’t help but laugh at that. Exhausted as I was, I simply laid there and wrapped my arms around my sweet Silvy, holding her close.

Tressi had other ideas, though. After a few minutes of that, she nudged Silvy. “Alright, it’s my turn. I’ve had to watch him sleep with two or three women now, so I’ll be damned if I don’t get to ride him tonight. Aaron, do your thing.”

Well, I knew what she meant. After orgasming so hard with Silvy, I was completely spent. After waiting a few minutes for my heart to calm down, I used blood magic to force my blood flow in a more favorable direction. After an orgasm like that, I wouldn’t be able to do much for at least one or two hours, if I were lucky. But with blood magic, it started to rise again only moments later, and I gave myself the kind of boner that could break stone.

“Careful, or I’ll just ride you again,” Silvy said, as she was still on top of me. She worked herself up and down a few times, then raised herself off me with a sigh. “I guess he’s yours,” she said to Tressi.

“Oh, I’m definitely going to finish him off,” Tressi said. “Gallu, do you want to warm him up for me?”

That would have surprised me a few months ago, but I was growing more accustomed to it now. Knowing that I was not only the king of the goblins but the king of awkward phrases, I made sure to just stay silent and smile at her.

“I would love to,” Gallu said with a smile. She had fully undressed herself but still stood at the entrance to our large tent. I could tell she was shy with her nakedness, but her body was beautiful. She was more slender than most goblin women I had seen, which meant she was still incredibly voluptuous. I thought I could wrap my hands around her waist it was so small. Her thighs were muscular and toned, and ended with the most ridiculously perky bubble butt I had ever seen. Add into that the red hair, and she was an angel, albeit a short green one.

“Wow,” I said without thinking. Gallu blushed when she saw me watching her, but she approached me then knelt next to me.

“How do you want me to start, Your Majesty?” she asked.

“Oh just climb on and go for a ride,” Tressi said, saving me from saying something stupid.

“Okay,” Gallu said, her voice nervous.

“Don’t let us force you into anything,” I said to her. “If you’re not ready, that’s totally fine. I can see you’re nervous about this.”

“Oh no, I really want this, Your Majesty! I’ve just never done it before with a man.” She looked down at me, her eyes going wide at my size. I sometimes forgot I was nearly two feet taller and almost a hundred pounds heavier than these women. To them, I was a giant.

Gallu threw her thigh over my waist and straddled me, then sat there for a moment as if unsure what to do. I was, of course, rock hard, my prick lying flat against my stomach. She sat with her wet lips right against my shaft, gently working her hips back and forth, coating my already messy cock with her own lubrication.

“Go ahead and slip it inside you, love,” Silvy said in a gentle voice. She had mostly recovered and laid next to me, just relaxing. She was very comfortable around other people having sex.

“Okay,” Gallu said, rising up a few inches. She grabbed me and immediately noticed she hadn’t risen up enough, so she lifted herself up further and rubbed the head of my cock against her lips, then slowly sank down. She squeezed her eyes shut and winced as she took more of me, and had to stop several times.

“Take a deep breath and relax,” Silvy told her.

“Try not to tense us, that makes it more difficult,” Tressi said. She reached out and gently stroked Gallu’s arm.

“By the gods that thing is huge,” Gallu said, rising off of me. She sat on my thighs for a moment, taking a few deep breaths. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”

“Hey, no need to apologize at all,” I told her. “You take your time.”

“Nonsense, you get back on there and ride that thing,” Tressi said.

“Just relax and you’ll be fine,” Silvy told her.

It all made me laugh. I had a perfectly average human penis, but then again, I was two feet taller than these women. To them, I was like a porn star with a foot-long dick. No wonder it took them a while.

“Here, let me help,” Tressi said as she reached out and took hold of my cock. She crammed it in her mouth and sucked it from base to tip, then spat on the end of it. “Wetter is better,” Tressi said. “Come here.”

Gallu raised herself back up and inched forwards on my lap until she was straddling my crotch. There was still a bit of fear in her eyes, but also determination. She reached down and took hold of my cock, which was now covered in Tressi’s saliva after a second glob of spit. Tressi licked her fingertips and wiped them on Gallu’s pussy, surprising the woman.

That time when Gallu sank down on me, it went in much more easily. She still winced and sucked in her breath between clenched teeth, but she took me in one swift motion until she was sitting fully on my lap

“Ohhhhhhhh, my goodness,” Gallu said. Her thighs shook for a moment and her eyes were still squeezed shut. “How do you do this every night,” she asked, although I wasn’t certain who she was speaking to.

“With pleasure, that’s how,” Tressi said. She reached out and grabbed onto Gallu’s hips and helped her move up and down. “There you go,” she said. “Move as you’re able to and enjoy every inch. The faster you go, the sooner he’ll cum.”

“I feel like an educational doll in a sex ed class,” I said.

“Aaron, this isn’t time for your weird Earth stories,” Tressi said. “You have a beautiful woman on top of you.”

“Good point,” I said.

I bent my knees to help support her and she leaned forward, placing her hands on my chest for support. My hands went to her waist and I held on tightly as I thrust in and out of her, moving slowly at first but giving her my full length.

“Mind if I touch you?” Tressi asked.

“I’m yours, Your Majesty,” Gallu responded, her eyes still closed.

Tressi leaned forward and ran her tongue down the side of Gallu’s perky breast, then twirled it around her nipple. She grinned at me and sucked on Gallu’s nipple for a moment, then gently bit it.

“Holy fuck!” Gallu shouted. Her eyes popped open and she blushed, covering her mouth with both hands. “Oh, I’m sorry Your Majesty. That felt really good, I just wasn’t—”

“It’s okay,” Tressi said, laughing. “You can say whatever you want. Just enjoy yourself.”

“Okay,” she said in her nervous voice.

I picked up the pace a bit, although I still moved slowly. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt this beautiful woman. Her breasts bounced with each thrust, and she eventually became more comfortable and relaxed.

She was absolutely soaking wet, which helped immensely. My hands slid up to her breasts and I gave them both a squeeze and pulled them to my face. After a full round of kisses and nibbles, I pulled her face down to mine to kiss her.

She kissed kind of like I expected her to; gently. She was a bit of a shy woman, so her kisses were soft and gentle, enjoyable yet the polar opposite of Silvy’s aggressive kissing. I held her face in my hands and adapted to the mood, kissing her just as gently as she kissed me and thrusting slowly into her wet pussy.

As tight as she was, there was no way I was going to last long, even going a second time like I was. Tressi instinctively knew that and stepped in.

“Alright, beautiful, it’s my turn now,” she said, leaning over and kissing Gallu on the shoulder.

“Oh, okay,” Gallu said, only pouting a little. “Thank you, Your Majesty,” she said, and kissed me. She looked over at Tressi and hesitated for a moment. “And you as well, Your Majesty,” she said. She leaned forward and pecked Tressi on the lips.

I was a bit sad to see her rise up off of me, but extremely excited when Tressi replaced her. She tossed her auburn hair over her shoulder and sank down on me like a pro, wasting no time before getting right to it. She rode me hard and fast, eager for the finish. Well, it had been a few days, so I couldn’t blame her. I enjoyed being with all these beautiful women, but I truly loved being with my wives more than anything.

“Oh, that’s it,” Tressi said, slowly sliding up and down. “How I have missed that.”

“You act like it’s been a month since we’ve made love,” I said.

“It’s been what, two days? That’s too long,” Tressi said. “Come here, you sexy man.” She leaned forward and kissed me hard and immediately began slamming her hips up and down, a woman eager for her prize.

This was one of those sessions where she didn’t want foreplay, she didn’t want tenderness; she just wanted to be fucked, good and hard. And so I grabbed her by the waist and gladly obliged her, thrusting up into her as hard and fast as I could. She practically screamed her head off, Gallu just watched, wide-eyed, wondering out loud how Tressi could take such a pounding.

Tressi licked her fingers and reached behind her, getting her ass wet and ready.

“No,” I said. “I’m finishing in your pussy tonight.”

“But Aaron,” she said, slowing a bit.

“Let’s do it, honey,” I said.

Tressi’s initial look of slight fear faded to one of love. "Okay," she whispered, smiling at me. She bent forward, her auburn hair covering both of our faces as we kissed. I picked up the pace and really gave it to her.

Gallu had already warmed me up, just as Tressi intended. With how fast we were going, it didn’t take me long to reach orgasm. I held Tressi tightly by the waist and slammed my hips up, bottoming out against her cervix and coating her insides with a healthy dose of my seed. I nearly matched her volume, sounding half like a man and half like some kind of animal.

“Wow,” Gallu said as Tressi collapsed against my chest.

“Get ready,” Tressi said, still out of breath. “You get to experience that tomorrow night.”

35

While Gallu was shy when it came to sex and just in general, she was a great cuddler. I slept in a tangle of bodies that night, which had become my favorite way to sleep. I hated the thought of sleeping alone. I briefly woke up in the middle of the night with Gallu’s incredibly perky bottom pressed against my crotch and Silvy’s tits in my face. It was the best way possible to sleep, and nothing could convince me otherwise, not even my arm falling asleep.

When we woke, I started to say something about how I missed Silvy’s tea in the morning. She beat me to it.

She had packed a double handful of dried tea leaves in a small cloth bag. Gallu provided the heat, and the soldier provided his cookpot. Everyone with a cup enjoyed a nice bit of hot tea that morning.

After that and a light breakfast, we set off again, heading east. At least it was easy to stay on the right path; just walk towards the rising sun.

“Another day of walking,” Silvy said from my right side. She reached out and grabbed onto my arm. “At least I have pleasant company.”

“Oh, don’t be so certain of that,” Taranath said. “I was just thinking I should work on my songs.”

Silvy laughed. “At least it would be less boring than just walking all day.”

Taranath cleared his throat and began to sing.

“Onward we walk, onward we stroll

To get our revenge against the trolls

Brave King Aaron leads the way

Heroically just walking all day.”

Silvy groaned.

I laughed. “Okay, that wasn’t so bad. I’ve definitely heard worse.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Queen Silvy,” Taranath said with a sweeping bow. “I shouldn’t have forgotten about you.”

“Standing only as tall as my chest

Stout of hip and large of breast

Silvy the queen walks as fast as she can

To hit the king with a frying pan.”

“Well, at least it’s accurate,” I said, then laughed again as Silvy smacked me on the arm.

“Oh shush, you. I haven’t threatened you in at least three days.”

“Let’s see, what could I sing about Tressi?” Taranath wondered.

“Don’t even think about it,” Tressi warned. “I have to hear enough of that because you’re betrothed to my sister.”

“Hold on, betrothed?” I asked. “When did this happen?”

Taranath smiled. “Just a week ago, actually. We decided it was finally time. I suppose now that the secret is out, I should go ahead and ask you.”

“Ask me for what?” I said.

“We wanted you to be the one to marry us,” Taranath replied. “You’ve been a pretty central part in our lives—everyone’s lives, really—over the last half a year. We figured it was appropriate. Also,” he lowered his voice. “While I of course respect him, my own king isn’t the nicest person. Nor would he oblige me were I to ask him. He has more important things to do.”

“Wow,” I said. “Thank you, Taranath. I’m honored. I don’t really know what else to say.”

“Well, I was hoping you could say something like ‘I pronounce you husband and wife,’ for starters,” Taranath said.

“Maybe I’ll throw a little something extra in there,” I told him. “I’m king, after all, so my word is law. Maybe I’ll say something like you have to obey Tela at all times.”

Tressi laughed. “He already does.”

Taranath shrugged. “Hey, I know how to keep a woman happy.”

The second day of walking was much more difficult than the first. I was determined to get there as quickly as possible, but it was already taking its toll. When we stopped for lunch, everyone removed their boots and rubbed their feet. I heard more than one groan.

Lunch was stew like the day before. The same soldier that had managed to shoot a rabbit bagged a large bird this time. I wasn’t sure what it was, but it reminded me of a pheasant. Granted, I didn’t know much about birds other than it wasn’t a turkey. Probably wasn’t a chicken.

Time seems to slow down when you walk that far in a day. Your mind tries to drift but always comes back and focuses on that soreness in your knee or the blister on your foot. On two occasions we stopped so I could use my blood magic to heal blisters on toes. I used magic to feel my way through Silvy’s body and found two blisters on her feet that she wasn’t mentioning.

“I’m already the slowest one out here,” she muttered, sounding rather disappointed. “The last thing I want to do is slow you guys down any further.”

“Nonsense,” I said. “Let me know the second you get even a hot spot on your foot and I’ll heal it for you.” I made my voice gentle. “You’re my wife, Silvy, and I love you dearly. You don’t need to prove anything to me. If anything, you did that long ago.”

“Thanks,” she said. “I guess I just don’t like being the slowest one of the group.”

“Hey, I’m only a step behind you,” Tressi said. “Trust me, I’m not used to walking like this at all.”

“Well, you’re both queens, Your Majesties,” Gallu said. “Of course you’re not used to working all day.” She winced. “No offense intended.”

“None taken,” Tressi said with a smile. “And you’re right. So, you see, Silvy? Take it easy on yourself and let Aaron heal you.

I healed Silvy’s blisters and checked the rest of her to make sure she wasn’t hiding anything else. Fortunately, she wasn’t. I also took a moment to check on our baby.

It was fascinating to essentially travel through her blood stream and land at my son. There weren’t words that could describe it, but after a moment I was able to make out several parts of him. I found his brain, and his little heart just beating away. It was the most incredible thing I'd ever experienced. He was half me, half the woman I loved. I couldn't wait to meet him.

“Aaron, are you crying?” Tressi asked.

“Ah, sorry,” I said, wiping my right eye, which had suddenly become quite damp. “I was checking on our son.”

“How is Magnus?” Silvy asked, rubbing her hands on her lower stomach.

“He seems fine, from what I can tell,” I said. I increased the blood flow to her uterus for a moment. That was about all I could really do.

My feet had taken only the slightest beating, but I took care of them anyway. Three solid days of walking was a lot of wear and tear, so I had to be careful. We all did.

We set out again, and I noticed the mood had lifted after healing everyone’s blisters. Well, that made sense. But beyond that, I began to sense a bit of eagerness in my party. If I had to guess, I would say they were excited to fight the trolls. Especially the soldiers.

A couple hours after lunch, the goblin sergeant approached me. He kept his voice low, for our ears alone.

“Your Majesty? I have a soldier that wants to speak with you, if you have the time.”

“Of course,” I said. “Send him right over.”

The sergeant nodded, then walked over to a young soldier marching twenty feet to my right. He said a few words, and the young soldier hurried towards me. He saluted me, then gave me a more friendly bow of his head. He looked nervous.

“So, what’s on your mind?” I asked him. He didn’t look old. Twenty at the oldest.

He looked around for a moment, ensuring we were sufficiently isolated. “It was about last night, Your Majesty,” he said, keeping his voice low. “I hope this isn’t inappropriate, but everyone knows you’re a friendly sort. I wanted to ask—if you could maybe teach me, or just give me a few tips. How do you do it, Your Majesty?”

“Do what?” I asked. The moment the words were out of my mouth, I realized what he was asking. Last night he had heard three different women moaning their heads off in my tent. The guy probably thought I was some sort of sex god. Well, I was a king, so that was close enough.

I laughed, then quietly explained a few basics to him. I made sure he understood that for the most part, pleasing a woman wasn’t too hard as long as you took your time and paid attention to her. All of her. I also taught him some basics of female anatomy. That would go a long way towards ensuring he could figure out how to please any future partners.

“Oh, thank you, Your Majesty,” he said, sounding excited. “Now I just—well, I hope I get to use it soon.” He grinned, making himself look even younger.

“So you’ve never been with a woman?” I asked, hoping that wasn’t too personal.

“No, Your Majesty,” he said. “I’ve kissed a few, but nothing beyond that. Things were different before you came here, understand. We acted differently. Kindness wasn’t something taught to us men. Relationships didn’t happen as often as they do now. Women weren’t too keen on us until they decided they wanted a child.”

I understood perfectly. Their king before me, Ralcor, had been a horrible, cruel man. His attitude and behavior had spread to the male goblins, making most of them into assholes. Since the king was a jerk, other men acting that way was accepted. Now that I had moved in and become king, appropriate behavior was expected of them. The women wouldn’t put up with anything else.

A lot of younger goblin men were finally having their first experiences with dating. I felt oddly like a proud father, or perhaps an uncle, trying to teach the kids how to act.

“Tell you what,” I said to the young soldier. “Stay focused, obey your sergeant, and work hard on this trip and I’ll see if I can put a good word in for you or something.”

“Oh, really?” the young soldier asked, his face brightening. “Oh, that would be amazing, Your Majesty. Thank you. Thank you so much. I’ll work my ass off, Your Majesty.”

“Just don’t try to be a hero,” I told him. “Don’t risk your life. You can't experience the love of a woman if you’re dead, after all.”

“I’ll try not to take any arrows like your elven friend, Your Majesty,” he said with a grin.

“I heard that!” Taranath said.

That evening started much the same as the night before. Silvy wanted me first, although all of us were tired so things never got too wild. She rode me so slowly I made a joke about her falling asleep. She was too tired to do much else than laugh.

“Just hold me,” Silvy said. She pecked me on the lips and laid her head on my shoulder.

I wrapped my arms around her and gently thrust into her until she laughed and finally moved off.

“I’m just too tired from all this damn walking,” she said. “Especially since you want me on top. Can’t expect a woman to do all the work.”

“Boy, I understand that,” Tressi said, stifling a yawn. She looked at my nude body with clear desire in her eyes, but I could see how tired she was. “Ugh. I want you but I’m exhausted.”

Gallu stood there patiently watching us. Whereas we were all tired, she looked fresh and fully rested.

“I feel fine, if I can take my turn now,” she said meekly.

Silvy laughed. “Of course you do. Get over here.”

As for me, I just laid there. One of the benefits of being king.

Gallu straddled my waist and showed that she had paid attention the night before by dropping a large wad of saliva on the tip of my dick. She lined it up with the soft folds of her labia and rubbed it back and forth, then took a deep breath and sank down.

Things went much more smoothly this time. She relaxed and while she winced a few times, she took my full length. In no time we were going at it, my hands on her ass and her tits in my mouth. It was, for lack of a better term, glorious.

I still avoided going too fast, even when she practically begged me to. We’d save that for next time. She was an eager thing, though, and what she lacked in experience she more than made up for with enthusiasm.

When I found myself near orgasm she leaned forward and pressed her lips against mine. We kissed, more aggressively than she had before, and I came deep inside her. Her lips curved into a smile against mine and she held her bottom on my lap, ensuring I pumped my load as deeply as possible inside her.

“Please say we can do that again,” she whispered in my ear when we were done.

“Of course,” I said. “We have to make sure you get pregnant, after all.”

“Thank you,” she said, and pecked me on the lips. She stayed there with me inside her and laid with her head against my chest. I looked over at Silvy and Tressi and found them fast asleep in each other’s arms.

36

Day three came and several things occurred to me the moment I woke up.

First, Gallu was still on top of me. Awesome didn’t even begin to describe the feeling of waking up with morning wood and already being inside a beautiful woman. Needless to say, we went at it without hesitation; we just kept quiet so we didn’t wake the others.

Second, we were getting close to the troll settlement. If what I had been told was true, we’d probably reach the troll city sometime today. I just hoped it happened when there was still sufficient daylight, although I tried to remember that goblins and elves had incredible eyesight and trolls had little beady eyes. Their vision was probably worse than mine.

And third, I should have told the soldiers to stand guard last night. Being this close to the troll settlement, we could have been attacked. Granted, everyone said trolls were lazy, but we still should have been safe. My thoughts had been with the women, so I hadn’t thought of any of it.

“Rise and shine,” I said as Gallu finally rose up off me. I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, then clambered to my feet. My legs were sore as hell after two full days of this. Walking was something you didn’t realize could be so tiring until you went forty miles in two days.

We ate a slightly larger breakfast than the days before, and I ordered everyone to let their food settle for thirty minutes before we packed up and left. When we came across the trolls, I wanted everyone at their best. I took a moment to check everyone for blisters and bruises as well.

There was definitely an air of excitement around our party as we walked through the forest. The absence of great trees was noted; things were smaller and more spread out this far from Solace. It made walking much easier, but it definitely looked like a different place than the forest outside my underground city.

“So, what’s the plan again?” Taranath asked. He had mostly spent his time walking with Althidon. It was nice to talk with my elven friend.

“If we come across any trolls before we get to the city, kill them,” I said simply. “I’ll try to talk to them if I can, and learn where their king stays. Once we get close to their settlement, I’ll sneak in and kill their king. Then we can set a few things on fire and leave.”

He nodded. “I like simple plans. Less to go wrong. Well, at least the trolls aren’t known for being archers.” He slapped himself on the stomach. “Glad to know I can avoid a repeat of that unfortunate incident.”

“It’s been a while since I fought with a spear,” Althidon said as he walked up to us. He was using one as a walking staff, same as me. “My sword won’t be much good against those huge bastards.”

“You two will do everything possible to kill any trolls that try attacking us,” I said to Silvy and Tressi. “You as well, Gallu. Just set them on fire.”

She nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“If things get too busy, we might need a distraction so I can sneak into their city. Gallu, how far away can you set fires?”

She frowned and thought about it. “I’m not sure, Your Majesty. A few hundred feet, I think.”

My eyes almost popped out of my head. “Okay, well at least we know we can keep you at a safe distance. All three of you, for that matter. The soldiers can protect you.”

“Does that mean we’re going with you?” Althidon asked.

“Possibly,” I said. “It’ll all depend on what things are like when we get there. I’m really hoping I can just use the shadow stone and sneak in alone. That’s the best-case scenario.”

“And the worst-case?” he asked.

“Worst is me getting an arrow to the stomach again,” Taranath muttered.

“Worst-case scenario, we have to fight our way in,” I said. “Our spears will only do so much damage against them. If that happens, I’m counting on the women to dish out most of the damage. If we can keep the trolls at bay while the women set them on fire, we should be fine.”

Althidon nodded. “Well, if nothing else, this will make for some good stories to tell my grandchildren.” He gave me a look as if to remind me he wanted grandchildren, and the sooner the better.

“I’ll talk to her when we get back,” I told him. “Let’s focus on surviving, first.”

“And no surprises like last time,” Althidon said.

“Yeah, fortunately we don’t have to worry about that. Although the trolls are a bit resistant to magic, especially my blood magic.”

“They still burn,” Tressi said.

“And I know troll magic,” Silvy added.

“We’re as ready as can be,” I said. I had full confidence things would go well.

“Everyone keep your eyes open. We’re close, now,” I said to the soldiers.

We kept walking for the next few hours. No one really wanted to stop for lunch, but I made them. We cooked a lighter stew so none of my soldiers would go hungry. Althidon muttered something about fighting with a full stomach, but he ate as much as the rest.

“Here you go, hero,” Tressi said, tossing me a wine skin.

“Thanks,” I said as I caught it. The last thing I wanted was to be drunk when we came across the trolls, but I took a swig to ease my nerves. This was different from fighting Ralcor, or even our earlier fight with trolls. This was out in the open. Anything could happen.

No matter how much I had trained with Althidon, I wasn’t naturally a fighter. I wasn’t particularly brave or aggressive. I fought for what I loved, but in the end I was a desk jockey that somehow found himself as king. With all that in mind, I tried to keep myself calm, and tried not to dwell on the fact that we were going to be fighting ten-foot-tall monsters.

“Tracks!” one of the soldiers called out. “Lots of them!”

We came to a halt and let him follow the tracks for a moment. Another soldier checked them and said they looked old. Only a moment later, they found more.

“We’re in troll country, now,” I said. “Everyone keep your eyes open. Your ears, too. Hell, keep your nose open, for that matter.”

“Do you think your pathetic human eyes will be able to see them?” Taranath asked, feigning concern.

“You might need to paint them bright pink so I can make them out against the forest,” I said in grave tones. “I didn’t bring any paint though, so we’re fucked.”

Taranath snapped his fingers. “Not sure how we’ll survive, in that case.”

“Yeah, I know,” I said. “You’ll probably wind up taking an arrow to the stomach.”

“Hey, not funny,” he said, but laughed. “You know, I was—”

“Troll!” one of the soldiers called out in a harsh whisper we could all hear.

“Fuck,” Taranath said. Even he blinked after saying that. I guess my way of talking was rubbing off on him.

Our party stopped and the soldiers focused on the troll. It was far away, barely visible. We moved carefully through the sparse woods, trying to stay as silent as eighteen people could.

“Let me try to talk to it first,” I said. “Maybe we can learn something.”

We crept closer until even I could make it out. The troll was doing something with a tree, reaching up and pulling branches down. I realized after a moment that it was probably a fruit tree, and the troll was gathering food.

“It’s a woman!” one of the soldiers said.

“Hey Aaron,” Taranath said with a grin.

“No,” I told him. “No way.”

“Oh come on,” he whined. “Don’t you like tall women?”

I snickered but otherwise stayed silent. We moved closer and I was finally able to see the troll better.

It was, in fact, a woman. Her mane of coarse black hair was quite long, nearly to her waist, and in a single braid as thick as my arm. She was just as tall as the other trolls I had seen, though certainly smaller than the warriors. Compared to the men though, there was a certain softness to her. Her neck was as thick as a tree trunk but she had huge, sagging breasts beneath a crude cloth covering. I hated to say it, but peeking out from a short cloth skirt, she had quite the fat ass.

“I know how you like ‘em,” Taranath whispered. “Maybe a political marriage can help our situation.”

“Hush,” I told him.

“Look at the rear end on her!” he said, struggling not to laugh.

I took a deep breath and moved forward, although at least I was smart enough to grab Gallu on my way. Poor woman was trembling with fear.

“Here,” I said, and reached out my hand. She took it in hers. I could feel her shaking. “Everything will be fine. I speak their language, so I’m just going to try to get some information from her. You’re just here as insurance.”

“Insurance?” she asked.

“Yeah, I guess you guys don’t have insurance companies in this world yet. If she tries to attack us, set her on fire.”

Gallu paled a bit, but nodded.

Together, we walked closer to the massive troll woman. She seemed somewhat oblivious to the world around her and just focused on gathering fruit from the tree. Being ten feet tall certainly helped with that.

When we got close enough, I stopped and stood there for a moment, just watching her. She grabbed fruit from the tree, sniffed it, then stuffed it into a sack that hung from her waist. I looked around the area and didn’t see evidence of any other trolls, so I looked back at her.

“Are you staring at her ass?” Gallu asked me in a whisper. “That thing is huge!”

“No,” I grumbled. “Jesus, you guys are ridiculous. Just because I like big butts doesn’t mean—Ah, nevermind.” I raised my voice and called out to the troll woman. “Hey! Uh, excuse me.”

I wasn’t sure what kind of greeting to use with a troll woman, but what I said seemed to work. Her head snapped around and she turned to look at us. Her eyes narrowed and she took a step closer, smelling the air, but she didn’t make any sudden motions that made me think she wanted to attack us.

“What are you and why do you speak my language?” she asked. Her voice was low and coarse, exactly what I expected from a giant troll woman.

“First, I want to emphasize that I’m not here to hurt you,” I said. “As long as you don’t attack me, I won’t attack you.”

“Oh, how kind,” she said. Her brows drew down. “Why are you bothering me?”

“Tell her you want to see her butt,” Gallu whispered next to me.

“Hush,” I replied.

“Tell her I want to see it, then,” she said. “That thing is impressive.”

“I’ll be open with you,” I said. “I need information about your new king.”

Her face briefly twisted into a scowl. “He’s a bastard,” she said, and spat on the ground.

“And yet you follow him,” I replied.

“You say that like we have a choice,” she said angrily. If anyone disobeys him or displeases them, he burns them. If it’s bad enough, he’ll burn them publicly until they’re no more than a pile of ash. That’s his magic. Fire.” She looked me up and down for a moment. “He looks like you. Different, but the same race.”

“That’s what I’ve heard,” I told her. “Well, if you want to be free from this guy, tell me where he is so I can kill him.”

Her face hardened and for a moment I thought I had made a mistake. Then, I realized that look was a mixture of determination and pure hatred. She really didn’t like her king.

She took a few steps closer to me. I felt Gallu gather magic into herself and I reached over and put a hand on her shoulder to keep her calm.

“If you can kill him, I’ll name my firstborn child after you,” she said. “But you never answered my first questions. Who are you, and why do you speak my language?”

“I’m Aaron,” I told her. “And I’m the king of the goblins. I’ve been here about as long as your king. The reason I speak your language is due to magic. One of our women cast a spell on me when I first arrived to your world that allows me to speak and understand any language.”

The massive woman grunted. “She used troll magic on you. That language spell is one of ours. Our king had it cast upon him as well. There is a goblin woman that knows troll magic?”

“Yes, and she’s my wife,” I said.

“How can you be king of the goblins when you aren’t a goblin?” she asked.

“Well, how can King Jack be king of the trolls when he’s not a troll? The difference is that I’m not an asshole, like he is.”

She frowned. “Fair enough. So, you want to kill King Jack? I’ll tell you how.”

The troll woman turned around so that she was facing away from us. Gallu immediately nudged me and pointed at the back end of the troll woman. I rolled my eyes. But, you know. I looked.

The lower parts of her ass cheeks were clearly visible beneath the crude skirt she wore. I found it oddly fascinating that such a horribly ugly creature had such a great ass. That thing was big and round, like someone stuffed two basketballs in the back of her skirt.

“Did you get that?” she asked after a minute, looking at me over her shoulder.

Shit. She was telling me how to kill King Jack and there I was, staring at her ass.

“Yeah, but can you run it by me again? I just want to make sure I understand everything completely.” That should work.

“We live that way,” she said, pointing in front of her and slightly to the right. “There is a wall around the city, made from logs, so you won’t be able to see everything. You might be able to climb it, though. King Jack lives on the southernmost point of the city. So as you approach it, to the right. You’ll see his house; it’s the largest one, even though he’s half our size. He has a flag flying above it as well.”

I nodded. “Got it. Thank you.” I even managed to completely avoid looking at her ass that time.

“He doesn’t use troll magic. He uses fire magic, and he loves to see things burn. The more cruel, the better.” Her eyebrows drew down into a fierce scowl. “He killed my son, because my son refused to obey him without question.”

“I’ll avenge your son,” I told her.

She looked at me for a while after that, as if deciding what to say. “Aaron?” she asked. “That is indeed a strange name. But as I said, you kill Jack and I’ll name my next child after you. I will do you that honor.”

I bowed to her. “Thank you. And thank you for the information. We won’t let you down.”

“How will you kill him?” she asked.

“Blood magic,” I told her simply.

“I’ve heard of that,” she said after a pause. “I’ve also heard it’s evil. Are you an evil man, Aaron?”

“If I was, I wouldn’t be here trying to kill a tyrant, and I wouldn’t have worked so hard to defend my people when Jack sent his warriors to kill us.”

She nodded. “Do what you must, Aaron. And may the gods be with you.” She turned back to the tree, then looked over her shoulder at me. “Avoid any of our soldiers you come across. They are the most devout, and they follow everything Jack says. Also, please keep it to just our king. I don’t want any more of my people to die.”

“I give you my word,” I told her.

With that, we turned and went back to our party.

“What did she say?” Gallu asked.

“She told me where their city was and where King Jack stays. He sounds like Ralcor—the people don’t like him. She’ll be glad to see him gone.”

The soldiers gathered around me and I passed on what I had learned to everyone. After a few minutes, we were ready to go.

37

We kept our pace a bit slower after that, as everyone was on the lookout for trolls. I wanted to stay true to my word, at least as much as possible. There were innocent trolls. There were also assholes that I planned on setting on fire, but there were innocent ones.

“Remember, we only attack the warriors,” I said. “No one touch any women or children. If they attack you first, you can defend yourselves, but otherwise I want to focus on killing their king.”

“Well, isn’t that honorable of you,” Silvy said.

“So, the language spell you cast on me was troll magic?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Kind of. It’s a type of tribal magic used by several different races. Did that troll woman claim it was troll magic?”

“Yeah, she did. And she said this King Jack guy had the spell cast on him as well.”

“Tracks,” a soldier called out. A second later he spoke up again. “Nevermind. They’re everywhere.”

“Alright, we should be getting close,” I said, just loud enough for the soldiers to hear me. “Keep your eyes open and let the rest of the party know when you see something. Remember the hand signals?”

Each of the soldiers raised their left hand and gave me the signal for “yes.”

“Perfect. Let’s get this done, fellas.”

After an hour of walking, the troll city came into view. The wall of logs that surrounded it did a great job of helping the entire place fade into the land around it. It was still too far away to tell, but I thought I could climb the wall without any real trouble.

As we drew closer, I motioned for the soldiers to shrink the size of our group. I hoped that would make it harder for us to be detected.

Eventually, we saw the trolls. Men and women, even some children, all walking around the area immediately surrounding the city.

I liked kids, which was especially good considering I was going to have a lot of them. I wasn’t one of those people that said babies looked like aliens. I thought they were all beautiful in their own way, and absolutely precious when they reached the toddler stage and started talking. Honestly, I couldn’t wait to be a dad.

All that being said, holy shit those troll kids were ugly. They were somehow fat and lanky at the same time, with round stomachs and skinny arms and legs. Their faces were like a Disney-fied version of an adult troll face, which is to say a fucking nightmare. I suddenly wasn’t so sure I wanted that troll woman to name her kid after me any longer.

But then I reminded myself that they were kids. They were sponges for knowledge, and were innocent until they were taught to be assholes by people like this King Jack guy. Those kids deserved to grow up in a better world. A world without tyrants. Maybe without Jack, they'd grow up to be decent trolls.

“This way,” I said, motioning for everyone to start moving slightly to our right. South, I thought.

“Do you want me to come with you when you sneak into the city?” Althidon asked.

“I don’t want to risk any of you,” I said. “When we’re done we’ll burn down his palace, and we’ll probably have to fight our way out after that. But I’ll kill him myself.”

“Are you sure that’s wise?” he asked.

“King Jack is human,” I replied. “My blood magic will make short work of him.”

Althidon nodded. “As long as you’re certain. I just don’t want any kind of repeat of last time.”

“Trust me, I understand,” I said. “And besides, if I—”

A goblin soldier screamed from behind me, and I turned around just in time to watch him die.

A massive troll had the goblin man in his huge hands, and he brought the soldier up to his mouth and took a bite like he was a chicken wing. The troll bit him right on the side of the face, his teeth crunching through goblin bones like they were a crunchy taco shell. The goblin soldier convulsed as blood poured down in a flood, and the troll jerked his head to the side, tearing half the soldier’s head off. He threw the rest of the body to the ground and laughed around a mouthful of bone and face meat.

“Troll, behind us!” I said, raising my spear.

The goblin soldiers were ready in a heartbeat. All of them, spears up, circled the troll. While this troll wasn’t wearing any armor, I noticed he was especially huge. Probably one of the warriors.

The soldiers lunged with their spears, trying to poke the troll full of holes, but his gray-green skin was thick and hard to penetrate. They barely managed to break the skin in a few places. It was like trying to stab a rhinoceros. The troll laughed at our attempts and cursed at us, calling us pathetic, and pests.

I stepped up with my spear raised, but reached out with blood magic. These trolls were resistant to it, but I did my best and tried to pull blood from his brain. He shook his massive head and roared in anger, then swung his hand around, knocking spears aside.

Silvy was suddenly next to me, chanting in a language I didn’t understand. She was going to do something with troll magic. I had seen a few days ago how devastating it could be.

The troll grabbed onto a spear and snatched it to him, yanking a goblin soldier with him. He moved shockingly fast for such a large beast.

The soldier didn’t stand a chance. The troll stomped on him, then reached down and grabbed an arm and pulled. He tore the poor soldier’s arm off and threw it at the others. The soldier screamed in agony, but he died shortly after that.

Gallu was suddenly there. Her face was a mask of fear, but I felt her draw magic into herself. A gout of flame blasted from her upraised palm and slammed into the troll’s chest.

The troll beat at the flames and immediately stumbled backward. Gallu kept up her attack, and flames rose from the ground beneath him, burning his legs. The skin on the troll’s thighs bubbled and he tried to scramble away. Gallu set his clothes on fire after that.

One particularly brave soldier rushed the troll and rammed his spear right into the back of the monster’s knee. He put enough force behind his attack that it actually penetrated. The troll roared in pain and stumbled, sinking to a knee. He tried to push himself back up, but one of Taranath’s arrows suddenly sprouted from his eye.

“Hey, I found a soft spot!” Taranath said as he nocked another arrow.

The second arrow took the troll in the side of the head, but didn’t fully penetrate. Still, it left a bloody gash on the troll’s head.

“I don’t understand how their skin can be so damn tough,” Taranath said as he snatched another arrow from his quiver.

The troll shouted obscenities and one of Taranath’s arrows went right down his throat. Immediately after, a wave of fire burned him again. No one could survive that, not even a troll. He fell to the ground, and a few moments later, died.

I immediately checked my party for injuries. Two of my soldiers had died hard deaths, but no one else had been injured. The soldier that had stabbed the troll in the back of the knee turned out to be the young man that had asked me for sex advice. Well, I told him I’d put in a good word for him, and he definitely earned it.

Tressi pulled water from the air and smothered the troll with it, trying to keep the smell of char and burned flesh down. Trolls had keen senses of smell, so we wanted to avoid that at all costs. After that we hurried from the area, putting as much distance as we could between us and the corpse.

“It’s over that way,” I said in a loud whisper, pointing to the far right part of the troll city wall. Even from that distance I could see the peaked roof of Jack’s palace above the wall.

Even after facing down a troll, I found myself a bit nervous at the thought of confronting this Jack fellow. I knew everything would be fine—he was human, so my blood magic would obliterate him. But something about it just made me nervous.

We came across several more trolls, even a group of them, but we managed to steer ourselves around them. Tressi, Silvy, and Gallu used magic to change the direction of the breeze so the trolls couldn’t smell us. I thought I was going to have nightmares about trolls sneaking up on me after that incident.

The troll city grew closer and I grew more nervous. Silvy could sense my discomfort and reached out, taking hold of my arm.

And then, we were there. The land surrounding the city wall had been cleared for a hundred feet, so we all hid in the treeline. Thick logs had been driven into the ground, making a wall that I hoped wouldn’t be too hard to climb. The roof of Jack’s palace was there, looming over the rest of the city. A tall flagpole rose from the side of the roof, with a banner waving in the breeze. It was blood red with a black skull. How fucking cringey.

“Are you ready?” Silvy asked. She gave my arm a squeeze.

I grabbed the shadow stone and held it in my palm. “Yeah, I’m ready,” I said.

“Sure you don’t want me to go with you?” Althidon asked. “There might be others to deal with in there.”

“The floors look more human-sized, at least from here,” I said, pointing at Jack’s palace. “He probably did that on purpose, so the trolls have to bow and scrape for him. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

And with that, I popped the shadow stone in my mouth. It was time.

38

It was late in the afternoon so the shadow stone wasn’t perfect camouflage. If anyone had looked, they would have seen a shimmering ripple of light walking across the clearing. Fortunately there were no trolls around. They tended to congregate closer to the main gate.

I hurried across the clearing and ran for the wall, one hand on the hilt of my sword and the other tightly clutching a coiled length of rope. One of the soldiers had that, and it was going to come in quite handy.

A loop had already been tied at one end. I twirled it around a few times, then threw it at the top of the log wall and promptly missed. I was grateful that the shadow stone extended to things I touched, otherwise everyone would have seen that their king sucked at throwing. It took me a full dozen tries, but I finally managed to get the loop around the tip of one of the logs. After a hard tug to set the rope, I began to climb.

I had never gone rock climbing or rappelling before, so it wasn’t something I was used to. Climbing the wall wasn’t particularly hard, but it had that feeling of one slip meaning my death, or at least broken legs. The wall was about thirty feet at its highest. Quite a fall.

I reached the top and grabbed on, then pulled myself up. Glancing over my shoulder, I looked back to where my party was waiting. Since I knew where they were, I was able to spot Silvy. She was watching me. Well, even with the shadow stone I was sitting on top of the wall. Quite the target.

I pulled the rope up after me, then tossed it down the inside of the wall and began to descend. I kept my grip firm and moved quickly, although not so much that I burned my palms.

After dropping onto the ground, I crouched in the shadow of the wall and looked around. King Jack’s palace stood right in front of me. Beyond that I could see parts of the city—mostly smaller houses, at least smaller on a troll scale.

Moving as quietly as possible, I crept around the side of his palace. A massive troll warrior stood guard in front of the palace. In his hands was a spear the size of a fence post. That was something I wanted to avoid at all costs.

I backed up until I came to a window. Fortunately the trolls hadn’t figured out glass yet, so the window was little more than a framed opening in the wall. I grabbed the sill and pulled myself up so I could see inside.

It was hard to describe. Made of stone and wood, the place had clearly been built in an attempt to be grandiose and, well, palace-like. It was immediately obvious that whoever built it had no clue what that meant. It was basically a very large three-story house with tall ceilings.

I pulled myself the rest of the way up and rolled through the window into the room. It looked like some kind of receiving room—several chairs along the walls and little else other than a handful of candles. Only one was lit, probably because it was daytime.

I silently thanked every god in existence that none of the doors were locked as I pushed one open and continued through the house. It was a bit of a maze, albeit a simple one. The layout just plain didn’t make sense. I found myself going the wrong way several times and had to backtrack.

Finally, I found the stairs. I waited at the foot of the stairs for a moment, listening for any signs that someone might be up there. Hearing nothing, I climbed to the second floor.

That was much like the first. Bedrooms, crude bathrooms that needed to be cleaned, a kitchen, and a layout that didn’t make sense. I did find a weapons rack against one wall, and took a moment admiring it. An absolutely vicious-looking spiked mace rested in the rack along with a sword that curved the wrong way. Next to it all was a helmet.

The helmet was mostly steel, with plenty of leather padding for comfort and a better fit. Horns rose from the side, like bull horns, or more accurately demon horns. A row of spikes ran down the center of the helmet to the back. With the leather on the inside it actually looked comfortable, although all those spikes couldn’t make it particularly feasible to wear in combat. That must have been King Jack’s helmet.

I looked around the second floor until I found the next set of stairs. Knowing I was getting close, I moved slowly, trying to keep my footsteps as silent as possible. When I reached the top of the stairs I looked around but saw nothing. A massive bedroom was to my left, so I peeked in there.

And that’s when I heard him.

From the first syllable that came out of his mouth, he sounded like an asshole. His voice was low and gruff, and I wanted to clear my throat when I heard him speak. It sounded like he was just muttering angrily at something.

I walked through the bedroom, noting the massive bed. It was damn near big enough for a troll. Ugh, I didn’t want to think about that.

I wanted to face him, not kill him as a shadow, so I spat the shadow stone out and put it back into my pocket. That was more dangerous, but it was how I wanted to do things.

Across the room a door stood open, and through that door I got my first glimpse of King Jack. He wore his spiked armor that I had heard so much about, and it was indeed spiked. His breastplate had a row of spikes on each shoulder, and more stuck out from his elbows. Not enough that he risked stabbing himself, but if anyone tried to grab him they’d regret it.

He stood on a balcony with his hands resting on the railing, looking over the troll city. I caught more than one curse word, but couldn’t quite make out what he was talking about. It just sounded like angry grumbling.

The floor chose that moment to creak.

Jack turned around, anger clear on his face. “I fucking told you—” He stopped when he saw me.

We stared at each other for a brief moment, and then he snatched a dagger from his belt. He drew his arm back and hurled it towards me, so fortunately I had a few seconds’ warning. I moved to the side and the dagger passed right through where my chest had been and slammed into the wall.

Jack’s face darkened with anger and I felt him pull magic into himself. I did the same, and all but stopped his heart. His face bulged and he fell to his knees, clutching at his chest.

“Get in here,” I said, pointing to the bed. “Get in here and sit down.”

He glared at me for a moment, but eventually moved. He couldn’t walk, so he crawled to the bed and pulled himself up.

“What the fuck are you doing to me?” he asked, his words slurred.

“Making sure you listen,” I said.

He finished climbing onto the bed and sat down, facing me.

King Jack was a middle-aged man with a shaved head and a beard. He didn’t look any older than mid-thirties, but his beard had streaks of gray in it. He was a tall man, easily over six feet, and solidly built. His face had the raised cheekbones and flattened nose of someone that had been in too many fights. Overall, he looked like someone that had lived a hard life and survived through pure grit.

“What do you want?” he asked in a growl.

“First, to talk,” I said calmly.

He scoffed, then looked me up and down. “You look like a fucking fairy,” he said. “What the hell are you even wearing?”

I looked down at my shirt and vest. “Elven clothes.” I had grown rather used to them and thought they were pretty stylish, considering the time.

“Fuckin’ elves. I hate those pricks,” he said. “Buncha nancy boys. At least the women are hot though. I need to get me some of them.”

"So you just appeared here about six months ago, right?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "I was asleep when it happened. I woke up outside this damn city of trolls, not knowing what the fuck was going on."

“Are you American?” I asked. I didn’t hear any accent, although the language spell generally got rid of accents.

“Yeah. You?” he said.

I nodded. “Cleveland.”

He gave me a flat look. “You have got to be fucking kidding me. You’re from Cleveland, too?” He wiped his hand across his head and laughed. “Man, who would have thought that? Two fuckers from Cleveland find themselves as kings in a different world.”

“Yeah, but that’s where our similarities end,” I said. “I treat my people well. I try to ensure they have a good future and that my kids will grow up in a better world than I did. You, on the other hand, sent your warriors to kill my people and kidnap my women.”

“Your kids,” he sneered. “At least you’ll have fucking kids! Look at where I am, asshole. Do you see any hot women around? All I get to fuck are these troll bitches. I’ve gotten used to it but I deserve better! I'm a god damn king!”

“Huh,” I said. “Well, they do have big asses.”

“They like ‘em played with, too,” Jack said. “But no, I don’t want anymore fucking trolls. They smell like shit and they’re ugly. I want elven women, goblin women! I want thirty wives and sixty kids.”

“So you sent your soldiers to kidnap our women,” I said. “Well, that makes more sense. Look, I’m sorry you’ve been clapping troll cheeks but what you did is unforgivable. You tried to kill my people.”

“So, why the fuck are you here?” he asked. I could tell he was growing impatient.

“I’m here to kill you,” I said simply.

He laughed at that, the way a man would laugh at a child that tried to attack him. “You really think you can do that?”

“Do you really think you can stop me?” I asked, slowing his heartbeat even further.

He gasped and glared at me. “Okay, point taken. “I’ll leave your fucking people alone and get orc wives instead.”

“No, you won’t, Jack,” I said. “I’m going to kill you after what you tried to do to my people. There is no way to escape it.”

He glared at me for several minutes before speaking again. “Can you at least tell me what happened? How we got here?”

“Well, the black hole destroyed Earth,” I said, and he nodded impatiently. “As for me, there was a goblin woman that prayed for a hundred years, asking her gods to send her someone to overthrow their tyrannical king. I believe she also prayed for someone to love her. I imagine someone did the same here.”

“That damn witch-woman,” he muttered. He looked up at me, his face sallow with blood loss. “She found me the moment I arrived and used magic on me so I could understand the troll language. A few times she mentioned something about me being the answer to her prayers.”

“Has she shared your bed?” I asked.

“Yeah, more than most,” he replied. “She’s clean, unlike the other trolls so I don’t mind so much. Tits bigger than my head, so I guess it ain’t all that bad.”

“Well, she probably asked her gods for someone to be sent to her,” I said. “And unfortunately, they sent an asshole like you.”

He grunted. “I am what I am, you fucking son of a bitch. Our world made me. My mother was a whore and my father spent more time in prison than out. Honestly, I’m surprised I turned out as good as I did.”

“You could have made this place better, so that no children would have to grow up like you did,” I said. “Instead, you terrorized them and drove them to attack your neighbors. How many children have you left fatherless?”

“Dozens,” he replied. “Maybe a hundred. Bah, I don’t give a shit about those stupid fucking kids. I want my own, god dammit.”

“Say your last words,” I said. I was tired of hearing him talk. Nothing but hatred and anger would come from his mouth.

King Jack thought for a moment, then looked up at me. “You said you’re doing things differently, right?”

“Yeah. I treat my people well. My children will grow up in peace.”

He nodded. “Good. Don’t ever let any of them turn out like me.”

And with that, I stopped his heart. It still took some time to kill a man that way, so I pulled all the blood from his brain as well. Within seconds he fell back on the bed, limp. He died shortly after.

King Jack was no more.

39

There was no way for me to really tell the trolls what I had done. I figured they would learn in due time. I just hoped they wouldn’t put another tyrant on the throne.

As quietly as possible, I made my way out of the large wooden building. I traced my steps back to the first floor and went to the waiting room, where I had come in. I saw the single candle burning and used it to light the rest. Then, I placed the candles so they would ignite the furniture. Hopefully that would be enough to burn this place down. Just to be safe, I brought one with me as I slipped out the window. I set it against the outside wall, and the wood there immediately began to char.

When I got to the wall, the rope was still there. I silently cursed myself for leaving it there—had someone seen it, it would have been a clear sign that someone was sneaking in. Well, it was too late to do anything about it now. My work was done.

Once atop the wall I sat astride it for a moment, enjoying the view from thirty feet up. The trolls went about their day just like any other race; I saw a blacksmith, what looked like a central market, even women hanging clothes to dry. I also saw the guard standing in front of the royal palace turn and walk inside.

“Time for me to leave,” I said to myself and began climbing down the other side of the wall. Once I hit the bottom I shook the rope a few times and finally managed to dislodge it from the top. I rolled it back into a coil as I walked to the treeline.

I spat the shadow stone out of my mouth when I got close. Both Silvy and Tressi ran forwards and hugged me.

“I was so scared,” Tressi said.

“You don’t have a habit of making smart decisions in these situations,” Silvy said.

“I’m fine, my loves,” I told them. “And King Jack is dead.”

At that moment I heard a horn blare from the city. A voice followed it, angrily shouting in the grunting troll language. Of course I understood every word.

“The king is dead! Someone killed him! Find him!”

“Time to go,” I said. “And we need to hurry.”

“No problems?” Althidon asked.

“None,” I replied, taking my pack from him. I slid my arms through the straps and hitched it high and tight. “As I said, he was human. He had no way to defend himself.”

The horn sounded again and we hurried away. Some of the soldiers looked nervous. My wives were grateful I was back.

“Let’s move!” I said, and we set off.

Everyone was ready to walk quickly then, even Silvy. With a laugh, she held onto both of her massive breasts and said she was ready to run if need be.

The horn blew again, and I turned to look. It sounded like it came from a different direction. Closer.

“Gallu, come here,” I said, holding out my hand for the beautiful redhead.

“I’m here, Your Majesty,” she said and slipped her hand in mine.

I looked down at her for a moment, at her fiery hair, at her beautiful face. I gave her a quick hug.

“You said you can set fires a few hundred feet away, right?” I asked.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” she replied.

“Jesus, call me Aaron,” I said.

“Okay. Aaron,” she said, smiling.

“How big of a fire can you set at that distance?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never really tried, to be honest. Probably pretty big.”

With her hand in mine, I walked over to the side of our party closest to the troll settlement and kept looking towards the gate. We were far enough away that they wouldn’t immediately see us upon leaving the city; at least I hoped. The goblins being short and green came in handy when it came time to hide.

“It’s about time,” I said to no one in particular.

A group of five or six massive trolls hurried out of the city gates, some wearing hastily donned pieces of armor, some just brandishing weapons. They roared in anger and scanned the forest around them, looking for whoever had killed their king.

“Everyone get down,” I said over my shoulder. They needed no additional warnings. “Okay, as soon as you're able to, Gallu,” I told the diminutive woman.

“The whole group?” she asked, eyes wide.

I nodded. “Those are the warriors. They’re the ones that were devoted to King Jack. With him gone, one of those guys will try to take charge, and they’ll likely be just as bad. It’s like cutting out a tumor and leaving half of it there. These guys need to go.”

“Okay,” she said. “Whatever a tumor is.”

I just sighed.

We crouched behind a bush and waited as the trolls slowly walked nearer to us. They scanned the forest in all directions and loudly shouted threats.

“I’m gonna find you and tear your limbs off.”

“I’ll drink your blood!”

“Once I find you I’ll flatten you like an insect!”

“God, shut up already,” I muttered.

“I think I can do it now,” Gallu whispered.

I felt her draw magical power into her, and it seemed like it would never end. Jesus Christ, this woman was strong. The power within her surged and the ground beneath the troll warriors practically exploded.

Ten-foot-tall flames blasted upwards, catching the troll warriors completely unprepared. They screamed and tried to run, but half of them just ran into each other. They attacked each other with weapons, trying to get away. Two of them did manage to escape, but the fires followed them. Gallu was absolutely relentless. The troll screams filled the air, although they didn’t last long. It only took a few minutes before they started falling to the ground, dead.

Gallu sagged in place and I reached out and caught her before she hit the ground. I felt the magic leave her completely.

“I’m sorry, Aaron. I can’t do anymore,” she said, so tired she could barely even talk.

I lifted her into my arms and held her against my chest. “Hold on,” I said to her, and she threw an arm around my neck.

I carried her back to our party. When they saw us, I assured them that she was okay and everyone stood up and we hurried away.

We walked hard for a solid hour, no one talking, just focusing on putting distance between us and the remaining trolls. Silvy walked next to me, with Tressi on the other side.

“So, are you going to tell us about it?” Silvy asked after a while.

I signaled for everyone to slow and I put Gallu down and caught my breath before answering.

“He was from my world,” I said, and Tressi gasped. “From the same city, actually. From what I gathered, a troll witch-woman prayed to her gods, asking for, well I’m not exactly sure. But when my world was destroyed, I came here, and Jack went to the trolls.”

“Amazing,” Silvy said. “For that to happen to two people is simply incredible.”

“The witch-woman used the same language spell as you used on me,” I continued. “I assume she taught him magic as well. He probably used that magic to take power.”

“So, why did he attack us?” Silvy asked.

I laughed. “He wanted wives. Goblin and elven wives. Poor guy had been sleeping with troll women since becoming king.”

“Ew,” Silvy said.

“Tell me about it. Well, he’s dead and so are his warriors. Hopefully that was the last of them.”

“If not, we’ll be coming back here in the future, I assume,” Althidon said.

“As long as I continue to stay arrow free, I’ll always volunteer to help,” Taranath stated.

“Personally, I want a life of peace,” Tressi said. “Especially since I might be pregnant now.”

I put my arm around Tressi’s shoulders and laughed. “So, let’s talk about baby names.”

The end.

About the author

Micky Carre is a best-selling author of fantasy and science fiction. Micky lives in Denver, Colorado and writes books when time permits. A lover of heavy metal, cats, and car racing, Micky plans on writing until they nail his coffin shut.

Table of Contents

- 1. 1
- 2. 2
- 3. 3
- 4. 4
- 5. 5
- 6. 6
- 7. 7
- 8. 8
- 9. 9
- 10. 10
- 11. 11
- 12. 12
- 13. 13
- 14. 14
- 15. 15
- 16. 16
- 17. 17
- 18. 18
- 19. 19
- 20. 20
- 21. 21
- 22. 22
- 23. 23
- 24. 24
- 25. 25
- 26. 26
- 27. 27
- 28. 28
- 29. 29
- 30. 30
- 31. 31
- 32. 32
- 33. 33
- 34. 34
- 35. 35
- 36. 36
- 37. 37
- 38. 38
- 39. 39
- About the author